When Love Cheats Death
by ludwigsgirl97
Summary: When Holy Rome comes back, Luwig's house is empty, but what happens when his long-dead lover comes back as well? Will she be struck down by the vary rule that kept her alive, or will they find a way to keep her alive? Same story line as before, but without the typos and random skips in the wording. Sorry for an inconvenience.
1. Chapter 1

I went back and read this and realized that it was not only fuller of typos that Swiss cheese is holes, but that something had made half of what I typed disappear like burgers around an American. I'm re writing this, thou it's the same plot as before, so I hope this satisfies old fans, and new readers.

"Germany, do I have to do training today?" Italy asked, not wanting to get out of bed. It was a Saturday after all, and work, especially uneeded work, should not be done on weekends.

"Yes, you do. Now get up and get ready. You're training today." The overbearing blonde said to his chipper friend. At least he was usually chipper. Now he was just tired.

"But it's so hot outside, Germany!" He further protested, even though it was barely even May.

"Stop complaining Italy. War doesn't halt for weather." He argued, though he still regretted now doing so in Russia. Never invade Russia before Winter. Rule#1.

"But we aren't in war!"

"But we could be at any moment and waiting until war breaks out will mean it is too late." The strict German was unrelenting, and the Italian was too scared to actually say no and leave. Really, he was a grown man and he and Germany were only friends, so he held virtually no power over him. If he had just stood up to him and said that he wasn't going to do it, Germany would have been speechless and bought him ice cream. He was really just seeing how long the little guy would go in the beginning, but now it had become normal, and Germany added in half an hour in his schedule for making Italy train, and he must keep to his schedule.

"Fine, but can I have breakfast first?" He asked, knowing his German friend would say yes. The first and last time he had said no, he'd passed out and Germany had felt terrible for weeks. He never let the Italian skip a meal now, realizing that he actually did have an extremely high metabolism, not that he was just a pig. He needed about 4000 calories a day just to sit there, and more if he was to actually do things.

"Fine, but make it quite. There are pop-tarts in the cabinet, so eat some of those and meet me in the training field. I'm coming back in fifteen minutes." He threatened, though even Italy knew that he wouldn't actually hurt him. Even when he had "'punched" him back in the war, he hadn't actually made contact. He had only made the motion, and was unable to go through with it. He was a good big brother, and Italy had even considered the notion that he was Holy Rome for a while, before deciding that it was a silly notion. Their noses were different, with Holy Rome having a little turn up, due to his Latin birth, that Germany didn't. Not to mention Holy Rome's hair was just a shade darker. And that is discarding the fact that by all accounts, his first and only true love was deader than a doornail.

He ate the strawberry pop-tarts, four of them, and washed it down with a glass of milk. He ran down the path that lead to Germany's training field, right outside his house. He had in built with his house, so that he didn't have to go anywhere to train, especially since he did it every morning.

Germany was stretching out, and he ran to join him, mimicking the larger man's movements. Germany repeated some of the stretches he had already done, so that Italy wouldn't cramp up. He saw himself as Italy's big brother, though there was a time during the war when he though that he may have been in love with the little guy. He had felt protective over him, enjoyed his company, and from behind the man looked not so manly. The Italian cooked for him, and was always there to cheer him up, as well as him protecting the little guy and fighting wars to defend him. It was all he had read about in his romance novels, the number of which I'm not at liberty to disclose. But then a woman had come along, and taught him what love really was. What it was like to want to spend the rest of your fairly immortal life with someone, until she had died. No, she wasn't human, and that was the saddest part. She was a nation, like him, and she had lived less than most humans.

He shook his head. These weren't the thoughts to be having. He finished his stretches and told Italy to run a mile, while he ran his usual three. The smaller man ve~ed in protest, but then again, he had already agreed, and Italy was nothing if not honest.

Italy easily kept his usual slow pace, as it was a perfect temperature for him. He was Italian, and so German heat wasn't the same. He just wanted a reason to get out of training. He was also in fairly good shape, considering he ran at least a mile a day, and more when he was scared. They were just getting started when the albino that lived in Germany's basement, Prussia came out in his underwear bringing them both shock. Not that Prussia was in his boxers, no, that was fairly common, but more along the lines of the man who was standing next to him. He looked just like the master of the house, only with a more Romantic nose, and his hair was longer, unslicked and slightly closer to brown.

"Italy?" He asked, and the Italian nodded, grinning like a kid who had just been given an all expenses life-long trip to Disney world.

"And you're Holy Rome?" He asked, his voice cracking a little. The look-alike nodded, only to be tackle hugged, catching the projectile brunette and spinning him laughing.

"And you remember West, though he was a lot cuter when we were last together." The albino said, and Germany was just confused.

"But The Holy Roman Empire is dead? And you never told me I had another brother."

"That's cause you were just a little tribe when he died, and there wasn't a point in telling you that you had a dead brother. You were the youngest, and then their was him, then our sisters, then another sister, then me."

"I have another sister, too?"

"She was the Cherucsi tribe, but she lived with Rome from the time she was little. None of us really knew her."He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Anyway, the point is that Holy Roman is back." Italy said, clinging to the middle brother, as if he would disappear should he let go.

"That is true, well, it's good to meet you brother, but I have to be curious how you survived this long, and without finding Italy to begin with." He said, and the elder thought for a moment.

"I suppose the rule of living so long as you're country remains intact counts even if it isn't called the same thing anymore. I woke up about a week ago in the middle of a forest, and was found by an old farmer. He gave me some food, and told me what year it was, as well as teaching me how to use a phone book. He thought I was an alien, whatever that is, and wouldn't have me paying him back later. He said he wanted us to owe him when the invasion came." He said, looking confused as hell.

"Aliens are beings from space, beyond the sky. And he thought that you were one of many to come. Honestly I blame America." Germany grumbled.

"Who's that?" He asked.

"You know what, I think Italy can fill you in." Prussia butted in, "But first, we party like never before. My baby brother has come back from the dead! I gotta call the boys." He said, and by that he meant France and Spain. Along with him they were the self-proclaimed and generally accepted bad touch trio, tough Spain wasn't nearly as bad as the others. He just agreed to join the group because they were his best friends, though sometimes he hated them, and they needed a third member. It also meant that his house would be full of weirdos and random people he barely knew until the wee ours of the morning, and then they'd all pass out or leave, and he'd have to clean it up.

After they had been invited, and arrived, Germany locked himself in his room. He really didn't feel like dealing with a bunch of drunken idiots, even if he was related to half of them. The party lasted from seven in the morning, to nearly midnight, and when he went back down, he found pizza boxes everywhere, and beer bottles covering every surface not covered by cardboard. Prussia was passed out on the couch, and Italy was nowhere to be found, nor was his other brother. He sighed and started cleaning, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise. It took nearly three hours, including getting the stains out of his carpet before they got any more dried in. It ranged from beer to things he didn't even want to think about, and it took several large trash bags to finish. He found a note from Italy saying that he and Holy Rome would be headed back to his house, while Romano was staying with Belgium for a while. He sighed, not knowing if that was a good thing or not. On the one hand, he no longer had to take care of the little Italian, but now he had to cook his own meals, something he had gotten quite used to not doing. He'd also grown used to having someone at his back while he slept, since Italy always snuck into his bed for the seventy-something years they had lived together.

He stumbled into his room, taking a quick shower and pulling on a pair of boxers before falling asleep.

He woke up the next morning and went down to get a cup of coffee, only to find that he had forgotten to set the pot the night before. He was so tired that he dozed off waiting the seven minutes for the pot to be finished, and the black liquid did nothing to help his tiredness. He thought for a moment and grabbed one of Prussia's energy drinks from the fridge, drinking it down. This gave him energy, but it also made him outrageously jittery, and he was unable to actually do the paperwork he planned to get done that day. He sighed and went outside to work it off, not planning on doing training that day, as it was Sunday, and even though he didn't go to church, he didn't do much on Sundays. He was running around the track when he hit the crash, and nearly fell down where he stood. Nothing but stubborn willpower kept him from just curling up on the ground and falling asleep. He grabbed his jacket and trudged into his house, and glared at the stairs like they were an old enemy. If he stayed downstairs and slept on the couch, he'd have a backache, as well as a marker mustache from his brother. If he went up the stairs, well, he'd have to go up the stairs. In the end, he decided that it was best to stick it out and head to his bedroom, and so he did. Followed by collapsing on his bed.

The next month was nothing but a pain in the neck for him. Just odd things, like buying wurst, only to find that it had gone bad a day before he purchased it, or the store being out of his favorite food altogether. He lost out of the world cup, beaten by Hungary. He'd be nearly done with a stack of papers and his pen would die, or worse, explode, and he'd be forced to print out a completely new set of the three hundred page report and redo all of it. Not to mention it was just strange. He hadn't had the house to himself, or even just he and his brother, since before WWII, and now it seemed to quite. Italy wasn't shouting for help because he'd fallen in an anthill, or making pasta, or just being his usual loud self. Prussia seemed to be sticking to his basement, not coming out until he smelled food. He sat on the couch, wondering why he had apparently become God's personal joke character when he heard the doorbell ring. He opened it up, and the woman smiling back at him polity made him nearly choke on air.


	2. Chapter 2

_The time was:The cold war_

_Today was a huge day for Germany. It was the day that he met Sophia Jones, America's daughter. Her official name was: Compilation of Foreign American Territories, but she basicly represented the bases her father had around the world. She was who he had sent in response to his reluctant plea for help from the self-proclaimed hero of Europe, and everything else. He usual would have simply taken the beating, his pride being very important to him, but it wasn't just him on the line this time. His brother had been taken by Russia, snatched from his right under his nose in the after math of loosing yet another world war, and rescuing his brother was even more important than his pride. _

_His only problem was that he would be assisted by a girl, an American girl, yes, but a female nonetheless. He would have been more pessimistic if he had known that she was only born a month before, popping out of Alfred's head like some weird, blonde Athena._

_He was to meet her in an officer's bar, not far from his house. He wondered how safe that was, as the bars were known for being filled with letches and those with little honor, as all the officers with the trait had committed suicide upon loosing the war. He hurried to be on time, never having been one to be late in the first place. He entered the shady, smoked-filled building and saw a woman of about nineteen standing among several older men in officer uniforms. He was prepared to show them some manners when she decided to do it herself. One of them made a grab at her, and she grabbed his wrist, throwing him into the man across from him. The following was nothing short of an ass kicking, and on that was very deserved in Germany's opinion. She used moves that would have had both Japan and China taking notes, and her strength matched, or at least rivaled, her father's. When she looked up, she was looking at him with sky blue eyes, and long blonde hair that came to her mid-back in a high ponytail. Her bangs were parted to the right, and her smile was blindingly bright in it's cheerful innocence. He couldn't help but smile back, even though it was rarer than usual for him to do so since this whole series of wars had occurred._

"_You must be Ludwig. Sophia Jones, at your service, good sir." She said, bowing slightly._

"_Americans don't bow do they?" He asked, wondering why she was doing so._

"_No, but I though Europeans do. Americans shake hands." She said, extending hers._

"_We only bow to royalty, and trust me, I'm not royalty." He said, looking away from her sadly. _

"_Well, I suppose I was wrong. Thanks for correcting me. I'd hate to look silly in my new home." She said, taking his hand. Hers was warm where his was cold, small where his was large, and soft where his was calloused and rough, but he could feel the hidden strength in something as simple as a handshake, as well as a tiny spark. _

"_It's no problem. I had doubts about your capabilities, but after that display, I think I'm good." He said, and she giggled a little. Not a ditsy giggle, but one that was just feminine enough to make someone who hadn't so much as touched a woman in ages blush. _

_Through the cold war, Germany would have been completely alone, Romano rarely let Italy visit him, seemingly afraid that he'd be whisked into war a third time should he do so. He only let him visit on the occasion because there was a girl there, and he didn't think even Germany would start a war with a girl, especially America's daughter, at his house. Prussia was in Russia, and Japan was still recovering from the first war. They had comforted each other through hardship, old and new._

"_Germany, I hate to pry, but you always seem sad. Is there something other than your big brother weighing on your mind?" She asked, as she made dinner one night and he was surprised to hear her seem so concerned._

"_It is and it isn't." He said, blaming his openness on the 12 pack of beer he'd drunk in the past few hours. _

"_Go on." She prompted, not sounding rushy, just interested._

"_If I hadn't started that war, then Russia wouldn't have been able to get East. Not to mention all of the things I did in that war, and then you came and treated me so nicely. You cook and clean for me, and you even bowed to me when we met. People always try to treat me nicely, they walk on glass around me and I hate it." He said, closing his hand in a fist. _

"_I treat you nicely because I think you're a nice person, Ludwig. She said, turning the stove down and sitting on the couch next to him. "I help you, because you help me. I live in your house, not to mention you're the only person who actually sees me." She said, smiling that 1000 sun smile of hers._

"_What do you mean. Who else would I see?" He asked, and she laughed a little._

"_Everyone else doesn't see me as Sophia. I'm the Compilation of foreign American territories. People only think of me as America's daughter, but you see me as Sophia, just like I see you as Ludwig, rather than Germany. We look at each other for the person, not what they represent." She said, and he, in his drunkenness, got bold. They'd known each other for a few years now, and would be together even longer afterword, and Ludwig had long since fallen in love. He placed a shaking hand on her cheek, watching it redden. He pressed chapped lips to hers, only to be pushed away. _

"_You're drunk, Ludi. Maybe if you try when you're sober." She told him, getting up to finish dinner. By the end of the night, he was passed out, and she had to take him up to bed. The next morning, he didn't remember anything, but Sophia did. She never spoke of it again._

_Years later, the wall had finally gone down. Ludwig wanted to wait for her father to show up, but he said that he wasn't coming. She was confident that they could win on their own, so with an over enthusiastic woman, and a less than so man, they invaded Russia. Being the snowy, nearly uninhabited waist land that it was, they were able to infiltrate it without any detection. They were surprised when they reached Ivan's house without having had a single scuffle. His house had a small group of human guards, but Sophia just grinned and rushed in before they could debate if it was a trap or not. He cursed and followed her as her pistols came out and shot everything in sight._

"_What the hell are you doing, what if that was a trap?"He hissed, and she waved her hand dismissively. _

"_When will you learn that the bad guy never thinks to set traps, and the hero always wins?"She asked, though it was a valid question. She just hadn't thought about it. Ivan seemed like a pretty straightforward guy, after all._

"_Be more careful." He scolded, and she shrugged, jogging into the building. The huge house was nearly empty, and it took them only a few minutes of opening doors to find that Prussia was being held in the top room._

"_Is he a princess then, that you're holding him in the tallest room of the tallest tower? Is something going on here that creepy fans of gay sex wit document with untrue stories decades from now?"Sophia asked._

"_What, you mean like fans writing fictional stories. Like some sort of fanfiction?"Germany asked, and she nodded. The two white haired males were just looking at them._

"_Well then-"Russia started, only to be interrupted by Sophia._

"_You do not interrupt the hero's sidebar conversation with her sidekick. Jesus, don't you read?"She scolded, and they all looked surprised. _

"_Hey, West! You're the sidekick, huh?" Prussia asked in a raspy pained voice, choking when he tried to keseses._

"_She's American."He offered, as if it explained everything, which it did._

"_You are here for a rescue attempt, da? And I don't want you to take the birdie, da? So what are you doing talking?" _

"_No, we want the man, you can keep the bird." Sophia said, though no one was quite sure if it was a joke or not._

"_No way am I leaving without Gilbird!" The Albino shouted, trying to get up off of the bed._

"_Dammit, I meant the man!" The giant answered, standing to his full height of very tall._

"_Now he's angry, Sophia." Germany said, glaring at her._

"_Don't worry, I got this. Get your brother out of here, and I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes." She said, sliding on a pair of black leather gloves._

"_I'm not leaving you here!"He shouted, and Russia was getting angrier by the moment._

"_Listen, if I can't beat him, then you can't so we'd all die. The objective is getting you and your brother out so that Germany can be reunified. If that doesn't happen I've wasted my entire life, so just go. I'll be fine."She said, smiling at him sadly. He nodded, and as she started fighting around Russia, he threw his brother over his shoulder and ran outside. When he was a little ways from the house, he called in for a heli-pick up, and debated going back into the house. He was just about to when another squad came out of no where, getting a bullet into his gut before he could take them out. He passed out as he heard the chopping of a Helicopter._

_He awoke in a hospital bed next to his battered brother. He jerked up, and looked around. _

"_Where's Sophia?" He asked the already awake albino beside him. Red eyes averted, and his heart dropped._

"_She didn't come out, West. Only her jacket." The elder said, gesturing to a leather jacket in the corner chair. The same jacket that Sophia never took off, she even slept in the thing. Dark brown, with black fur around the collar. The number 51 was on the back in white, and a star was over her heart in the front. _

_He clenched his fist, fighting the tears that threatened to spill over his eyes. He could think of revenge, and also that in nearly twenty years, he never got the courage to tell her how he felt._

"_I'm sorry, West. You shouldn't have come after me. Your girl would still be here." The albino said, looking away still._

"_No, It's not your fault. It was Russia who killed her, and I'll pay him back one day if it ends the world."The German vowed, as a single tear slid down his cheek_

"Sophia, is that you?"He asked, and she bot her lip, looking down.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Germany. I had a head injury recently, and I can't remember anything. If we were close, I apologize.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Sophia, is that you?"He asked, and she bot her lip, looking down._

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Germany. I had a head injury recently, and I can't remember anything. If we were close, I apologize." She said._

"You don't remember anything?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Nothing. But Dad said that you would be fine with me staying here, and that he had already arranged it." She said, her childish eyes looking up at him, like they had when they'd first met. Inexperienced in the tragedies of the world, and all too trusting in both the world and her own abilities. He stepped aside and invited her in. She thanked him, and walked into the spacious house. She smiled brighter, and he smiled with her.

"You're father didn't tell me he'd be sending you." He said, and she shrugged.

"Dad's like that sometimes. He thinks that everyone else knows what he knows, and doesn't bother telling them. From what I understand, you, Dad, Uncle Mathew and Arthur are the only ones who even know I'm awake."She told him and he nodded.

"Do you not have any clothes or anything?" He asked, noticing her distinct lack of luggage.

"They'll be here tomorrow, they had to get put on another flight because they had my gun in them."She informed him.

"Would you like to see your room?" He asked, and she nodded, happily following him up the stairs. When they entered her room, her eyes went wide.

"This room is lovely. It's like it was made for me." She went to the center of the room, spinning once, causing the light summer dress she wore fan around her knees.

"That's because it was. You lived with me before your injuries." He said, and she looked at him like 'really?' "In fact, you and Sweden made that wardrobe there. His help was a gift from he and Finland."

"Is Sweden Finland's subordinate or something?" She cocked her head to the side.

"No, they're lovers. In fact, you were the one who finally got them together."

"How'd I do that?" she sat on the bed like a kid waiting for story time. All he could think was that he was happy he kept this room clean, otherwise it would be pretty embarrassing.

"At one of the world meetings, you came with your Dad and I and got sat next to Sweden. He's a pretty scary guy to most people, taller than myself and he almost never talks. He just stares at you. Most people are scared of him, but you talked to him like you would anyone else. By the end of the meeting, you were going to their house for dinner. I would have been worried, but everyone knows that those two were about as straight as circles, so I didn't think they'd try anything with you. Rumor has it you pushed them into a closet and said that until the unbearable sexual tension was ended, you wouldn't let them out. Needless to say they were let out eventually, and you were friends ever since."

"I'm that blunt am I?" She spoke, and it was strange to have to tell her about herself.

"At least you were. Don't feel like you have to be your old self, if you act differently and people don't like it that's their problem, not yours." He said, and she grinned at him.

"I can see why we were friends, Germany. You're a nice guy, and I can tell it's real, not fake kindness just to be polite." She said, and he was taken aback. He'd been called many things, but not even Feliciano had ever called him kind.

"Well, thank you. Dinner will be in a few hours. You still like wurst, don't you?" He asked, and she nodded. She had no idea what it was, but sausage came to mind, and she had apparently enjoyed it before.

"These are great, Germany!" She claimed, shoving the food down her throat in a way that had the German blushing. Her dress was low in the chest line, and thin-strapped. It hugged her upper body, and she was eating the tubular sausage in a manner most suggestive. Not that she intended this, but it was what happened. Germany thanked her and excused himself to the bathroom.

"Did West finally say yes to one of the girls who flirt with him, then?" Prussia asked, coming out of his underground home.

"No, and I don't appreciate the assumption. I'm Sophia Jones, and also the representation of U.S bases around the world."She said, standing up and glaring at the red-eyed man.

"Wait, Sophia? I thought I recognized you."He said, looking surprised for a moment, and then looking away.

"Did we know each other, then?"She asked, and he looked at her like she was crazy. She explained her situation and he nodded.

"Well, not really. But you and West were pretty close." He said, and his two side fought for what happened next. The part of him that was a good big brother wanted him to leave it at that, and let Germany sort it out for himself, though he would offer him help. Then the rest of him wanted to make fun of how his brother had obviously been madly in love with her, and leave her creeped out and embarrassed. Before the inner war could win, said brother came back out of the bathroom. That he had been in a good number of minutes told Gilbert exactly what he'd been doing, and he was about to say it aloud when the death glare sent by cold blue eyes warned him back into his basement.

"I don't think I like the strange man who lives in your basement." she said, drinking down her soda. He had a beer, as usual, and when he stood to go into the kitchen to wash the dishes, she stopped him. "I'll do them, you cooked after all." He smiled at her, and went up to his bedroom.

He sat on his bed, wondering if this was a gift or a cruelly ironic joke. He had been given the most exquisite cake in the word only to find it was made of cardboard and icing. It was sweet on the outside, and beautiful, but it had none of the depth and loving care that he had fallen for. But could she be the same woman? She had the same mind,and a similar personality, right? She was still fundamental the same person, just without any life experiences. He couldn't help but consider himself a pedophile, because she was so much like a child. She had far too much innocence for someone like him. He was as far from pure as you could get, and yet she didn't know that. And how to tell her? Slam a history book down and demand she read it? She still wouldn't associate it with him, just as she hadn't before. He'd had to tell her that he was a part of it. That he agreed with nearly everything his old boss had said, bought his lies more fully than anyone else? She would never know the monsters she shared not only a world but a home with. He didn't want to make her realize how terrible the world she had stepped into was, but how could he allow her to go on living and innocent lie? Should she remain ignorant? It was bliss, so they say, and Italy seemed pretty happy without the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Sophia went up to her room, and looked around. It was really wonderful, and she was happy about it. But she knew that she'd never get a good night's sleep. She'd been living on catnaps and make-up since she came out of her coma, a nightmare that was more like a memory. She felt white hot blades run across her back, and heard a voice, but she could never make it out. Never even tell if it was a man or a woman or what it was saying. Then she'd hear a bang and wake up with a godawful headache. Not only was it too real to be made up with her imagination, but she had the scars to coincide. She washed off the skin tone powder that covered the black circles under her eyes, and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked terrible, and there was no way to fix it, aside maybe from being knocked out and sleeping that way.

She changed and sat on her bed, clenching her fist. It was time to have the nightly discussion with herself. To sleep, or not to sleep. If she did doze off, she'd get maybe one hour, and that would be torturous. If she didn't then she, well, wouldn't get any sleep. It was a matter of how much she really felt that she needed the sleep. Of course, she always needed it, but would she live without it was the question, really. She'd learned to ignore being tired and just go on with her day, so she really only needed enough sleep to keep her alive, and dieing was a hard thing to do for a nation.

In the end, she closed her eyes and prayed for the best, slipping off.

The next day, Ludwig woke to the smell of cooking food, which alarmed him at first. If Gilbert tried to cook, he usually made something blow up, and Feliciano couldn't be left alone in the kitchen lest he set something on fire, or trip and fall on a knife or something like that. Really, buckets fall from the sky and hit him on the head, theirs nothing that that man can't get into. Then he remembered that Sophia was here, and she would be the one in the kitchen making him a good breakfast. He smiled and slid on some clothes, and went down the stairs. She smiled at him as she served eggs and breakfast sausage. He sat down at the table and thanked her.

"No problem, Germany. A good breakfast is necessary for a productive day, right?"She said, and he nodded. She bent down, still in her loose pajamas, and he had to bite his lip to fight the urge to kiss her when her face was that close. His heart was jumping and all she did was lean down to place his plate on the table. If she was going to be living with him, he'd have a heart attack at this rate.

"Indeed. Well, are you going to do training with me, then?" He asked, trying to preoccupy his mind.

"What kind of training?" She asked, but before he could answer, his annoying brother came up and did it for him.

"He means work out. He calls it training to sound cooler." The albino said, stealing a piece of sausage from his brothers plate.

"That was Germany's sausage. You can eat cereal."She said, glaring at him. For some reason she instinctively hated the guy, or at least distrusted him.

"Your girlfriend's prickly isn't she?" He said, glaring back. Usually people looked away or at least flinched at his unusual gaze, but she just glared harder.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's a guest who was kind enough to make breakfast for me in spite of that status. I don't know what you did to piss her off, but I'm surprised she hasn't punched you for it."

"Hey, how do you know it isn't her fault?"

"Because I know both of you, and she'd polite until you do something to make her not do so. You probably perved on her, and she just doesn't want to tell me so that I don't kill you for it."He said, "But when I find out..."He left the sentence hanging.

"Nothing like that, he just got a bad impression of me. But I don't like him anyway. It's instinct. The sky is blue, that way is up, and this guy isn't trustworthy." She was looking at the younger brother, but every once in a while she would shoot a glare at him to make sure he knew she meant him.

"See, I didn't even do anything!"

"A mistrust of you must be buried in her subconscious." He said, and the albino stole another sausage before going back into his basement.

"I did actually make enough for him. I just didn't like him putting his hands in other people's food."'She informed him, and he smiled. She was defiantly Sophia. She would like the rest of the world to see her as strong and closed, but she was warm and motherly on the inside. "I'm going to take it to him." She said, and stood up. She walked away, and e forced himself not to watch. He finished his breakfast, and went to put his plate in the sink.

"Hey, Germany's brother!" She called, realizing she still didn't know his name.

"I am the Awesome Prussia!" He yelled back as she walked down the stairs.

"I made you breakfast. Here." She held the plate out to him.

"But you told me to eat cereal!"

"You shouldn't have been so rude. If you had asked I would have told you. And I don't actually hate you, I just get pervert vibes from you. Try not to be dumb, alright?" She said, holding out her hand.

"The awesome me is always smart." He said, looking away, although his white skin showed his blush completely.

"Self-loathing egotistical disorder." She blurted, and he looked at her, his red eyes wide.

"What the hell are you blabbering, woman?"

"It's a disorder in which a person has low self-esteem, but holds a facade of over-pride in order to not allow anyone else to see it. It's usually found in those who grew up with doting parents only to discover they didn't actually have any of the talents said parents told them they did, and so they fail to find their other talents. Having the thought that they have no talent whatsoever, they begin to hate themselves, but don't want to be the pitied kid, so they make everyone else think that they're an overconfident ass." She said, sitting on the unmade bed next to him.

"And why would you blurt that out?" He said, still not looking at her.

"I haven't found it yet, but I will. You're true talent. I'll fish it out if it kills me, Prussia." She said, smiling at him.

"What the hell do you want? I thought you thought I was a pervert!"

" I do, but I also think that you're a good person, deep down. I want to make you that person, before I die." She said, and he looked at her, knowing exactly what she was talking about. She represented the bases, and America's new boss was having them stripped. They were to be empty by Christmas, and she would be dead around that time. Too bad he had never taught his brother the basics, and so the blonde master of the house had no clue that she wouldn't be alive to celebrate new years with him. She would be too sick if she was there to celebrate Christmas, and she'd be weak by Halloween.

"Don't bother. What you see is what you get." He said, clenching his fists in the sheets.

"I don't think so. I think you're worth more than you think." She said, getting up and walking out of the room. He felt a little flutter in his chest. No one had ever thought of any of that before.

No one, not even West, had ever thought that his ass routine was an act, and yet she saw through him in less than a day. She was kind even when she knew he was a bit of a pervert, though most of that was an act as well. Hell, she brought him breakfast after he had done nothing but piss her off. She left him wondering what it was she saw in him that no one else did, and if it was even there in the first place.

"That was a long trip." He joked questioningly.

"I had to yell at him for being so rude, didn't I. Even if he usually does that, it's my food, and so my rules go." She lied, acting angry.

"Well, he was right though. I just call working out training from habit. It was actually war training, but then it just turned into staying in shape." He said, rubbing the back of his reddening neck.

"I don't really have any work out gear, and I have to go get my clothes and stuff today. I'll join you next time, though."

She got dressed in the same dress as yesterday, and went out. He assumed she would hail a taxi or something. He sighed and went out to run off excess energy.


	4. Chapter 4

"Wait, so you're Ms. Jones?" The base director asked, as that was where her luggage was delivered to. He was a middle aged man with short, brown hair, and a handsome face. He had a strong, well-muscled body, and stood about six inches taller than her.

"I am, and you must be Mr. Director." She said, extending her hand. In that she called him that, rather than his name hinted to anyone privy to the knowledge that she was a nation and not a normal human. It started out with Rome and Germania, who said that their bosses never lasted long enough to bother learning their names, so they just called them emperor and such. It had become habit for nations, and in a time when few knew about them, it was an inconspicuous way to let those who did know who you were without sounding silly and introducing yourself as a country.

"While you're here, would you mind taking a look around?" He said, "And I've also got some important papers to give you."

"Of course, sir. Hard to do paperwork if I don't have it." She smiled, and followed him. She couldn't decide whether or not to dislike this guy. After all, she was more attached to the German base than the others, and so it would be the operation that he led that would eventually lead to her death, and yet he seemed likable. He appeared to be a nice guy, who truly believed that this would be for the good of the world, and she really couldn't fault him for it. Of course she, being the representation of the country to be destroyed didn't like it, but what are you going to do?

On the way down the hall to his office, she saw a few soldiers packing up already, getting prepared to go back home. A few of the young,presumably single men looked disappointed that they wouldn't have a pretty much free trip to Europe anymore, but most of them looked happy to be going home, to their families and friends. Each happy face only seemed to make her sadder, however, as that meant that, without knowing it, thousands of people were glad to watch her die.

She got her papers and her luggage and left in the military vehicle she was loaned until she could find a car of her own. A simple car with four doors, black paint, and cloth seats. It had average power, and pretty much average everything else, including trunk space, making her glad she had packed light. Only a single box carried all of her earthly possessions, and with that, she headed back to the large home in Berlin, the only one with a training field in the back instead of a garden. The place where she lived most of her waking life, considering she had actually only spent a month or two in America before leaving, with visits on July 4th and Christmas. Not that she remembered the late nights arguing philosophy with Ludwig while hopelessly drunk. Or that his dogs never seemed to age, and most certainly not die, or how, no matter how cold and scary he outwardly seemed, Germany was a caring, warm nation who just had to go to war, and be a soldier far too soon.

"I don't want what you're selling!" Prussia yelled when he heard the doorbell ring. He had told his friends to knock instead so that he could tell the difference. Not that most nations didn't already knock, most of them being older than the electric doorbell and such.

"I'm not selling anything, you daft bastard! Let me in!" Sophia shouted, a bit of England's language audible in her voice. So she was British when angry, huh?

Either way, he jumped up, literally, he hopped over the couch in the living room, and threw the door open, trying to look cool.

"Sorry, most people I know knock. You should do that, or we'll both think you're those damn cookie selling children." He informed her, and she nodded, mentally jotting it down.

"Haven't one of them ever thought to knock instead?" She asked.

"Yes, but their tiny hands make a different sound, so I can tell the difference."

"What do you have against the girl-scouts?" She laughed a little.

"It's not me, I love a good thin mint, it's West. You can't have candy without him eating it. But you didn't hear that from me." He said, sitting back on the couch to watch television. Then he noticed she had left a large box on the porch and was now carrying it up the stairs. He felt like an ass watching a woman, even one with super strength, carry something like that on her own, and he was about to ask her if she wanted his awesome help when she fell, rolling down the steps like a slinky, only it wasn't as fun because there was blood.

She sat up, her box of things strewn everywhere, and her forehead bleeding. West had went out for groceries, and he now he was left with an injured girl, and having not done first aid since the 19th century. _Ah well, _he thought, _fuck it. What could possibly go wrong?_ He ran over to her, and pulled off his "Bitches don't know 'bout my chick" tee, his favorite, and pressed it to her wound. She looked up into red eyes that were concerned, and held no sarcasm.

"Apply pressure, and don't pass out until I get back with the first aid kit." He told her, running up the stairs, and nearly tripping himself in doing so.

He tore the bathroom apart looking for the tiny white box with the red cross, and when he found it he took no time for celebration, though he did "HaHA!"as he ran down the stairs.

While she had a light blush from the fact that he was shirtless, he didn't even think about it, and wasn't paying enough attention to anything but the cut on her head to notice that she was blushing. He was raised around nothing but men, after he had left home and his sisters behind, and it was normal to walk around butt naked in front of them. In fact, the only guys who kept their clothes on were those who were considered wimpy, and it was assumed that they just had bad bodies, something the Prussian did not, in spite of his long bouts of in activity. Dancing in bars, among other, higher rated activities, kept him in fairly good shape. He didn't have that perfectly toned six pack of his brother, nor the broad, developed shoulders, but he had meat on his bones, and he didn't think twice about showing that fact. In reality, he didn't even think once.

"There, that should do it. Head wounds bleed a lot, so it looked worse than it really is. West is better at this though, so you should probably run it by him when he gets home." He said, standing and even helping her up. She smiled at him, and he turned away blushing.

"If you beg, the awesome me might even help you pick up your things. Either way, I'm curious what naughty things you keep hidden in you're dresser." His caring attitude was immediately covered back up with a layer of douche thicker than icing on her Dad's Christmas cake, and she sighed.

"I don't beg, Germany's brother." She said coldly.

"I am the awesome Prussia! You may call me Gilbert if you wish." He said like a king giving a subject permission to address him by his name rather than your majesty.

"Fine then Gilligan, but I have nothing interesting in this here pile of stuff." She told him.

"The awesome me deigns to help you anyway." He said, but the first thing he went to pick up was a forest green thong. The only thing other than white cotton from what he could tell, minus a matching bra. He blushed furiously as his perverted and creative mind pictured her in the ensemble, in his room, on her knees and-

"Are you alright, or did you catch an even worse strain of stupid than you already had?" She asked, and he looked up, and realized he was standing like an idiot, thankfully with his back turned to her. Not only would that let her know that he was zoning out holding her panties, but it would reveal the erection he was sporting, and that would just get awkward, and likely more bloody than it already was.

"Of course the awesome me is fine. Just bored by all this boring clothing. You don't get laid much do you?" He retorted, and she frowned, as well as blushing.

"From what I understand, my entire waking life was spent saving you, so know, I wasn't having much sex, if you must know." She spat back, guilt tripping his ass.

"I never asked you to come rescue me, stupid girl. You decided that one on your own." He said, angrily throwing a handful of clothing into the box. They picked the rest up, and he insisted on carrying it up for her this time, in spite of her protest that she didn't need his help. He dropped it in the center of her room and went into his basement right as the door opened and Germany returned.

Germany was on his way to his office when he heard cursing from Sophia's room. He went in to find her with a stack of papers, and squinting at them. He had forgotten that she was half-blind, and couldn't read anything not in children's book font without her glasses.

"You need these?" He asked, handing her his own glasses. They were pretty much just reading glasses, as they were nowhere near as thick as hers, but it should help anyway, and it defiantly couldn't hurt. If her eyes got any worse he'd have to train one of his dogs to lead her around with the help of a stick.

"Why did no one tell me I needed glasses?" She wondered, not accusing him, just wondering.

"I don't know, though perhaps your father didn't know. It took him a lot longer than you've been alive to realize he needed the damn things.

"This is better, thanks." She said, smiling at him. He smiled back softly.

"I'll take you to the eye doctor tomorrow, to get proper glasses, until then you'll have to deal with my extra pair, I suppose." He said, though they weren't his extra pair. Those were his black ones. The blue ones she wore were what he usually used, but the dark blue brought out the lighter shade in her eyes, making them even more stunning than before, so he gave her those.

Sitting in his office, he was unable to do work. He scanned his papers, but didn't really read them, simply signing where he was supposed to. In a worse case scenario, he could just white his signature out, or print a new copy. He couldn't stop thinking of that smile. That wonderful smile that made the cold ice of Germany melt into the simmering caring of Ludwig. With a push, he knew that it could be pushed to a boiling point, and it wasn't a very big push. More like a nudge really. He found himself even wishing that he was more like France, so that he could woo her into his arms without even trying. But then he realized that Prussia must have spiked his water somehow, because France as a douche nozzle, and he couldn't fight, and Sophia wasn't the type of girl to fall for a guy like that anyway. Maybe Italy's method of wooing, but not France's. He shook his head yet again, trying to focus, but it was futile, and he spent a wholly unproductive day until dinner.

"Germany! It's dinner time!" She called from the bottom of the stairs. When he came down, she was standing in the kitchen with her long hair damp and out of it's usual ponytail. It trailed down her back like golden silk, and pointed out her already gorgeous figure. He swallowed as she turned around and he saw that she was wearing tight, barely mid-thigh shorts, and a black tank-top nearly identical to the one he wore as an undershirt, only his didn't have breasts straining the top, something blatantly staring at him from the front of the dark cloth. He used his superior willpower to keep his eyes where they belonged as she served him a baked potato and a steak.

"By the massive amount of potatoes you have in here, I thought you liked them, so I made some. If you prefer mashed potatoes, you can just stab the fuck out of it, and it'll turn into mashed potatoes soon enough." She told him, doing this to hers. He stared at his plate. She was so oblivious to the motion she was making with that damn fork, and he was all too aware. He was glad a table stood between her line of sight and his crotch, else an embarrassing situation arise. After she had sufficiently mauled her dinner, she stood up and grabbed another plate from the kitchen, taking it to his brother downstairs. He sighed, and tried to pull himself together.

"Yo, Gilligan!" She shouted.

"That's not my name!" He shouted.

"Yeah, well I brought food, so I'll call you whatever the hell I fell like calling you, won't I?" She said, glaring at him.

"Fine. It's all women are good for anyway. You and Hungary both..." He mumbled, shoving a big piece of steak in his mouth.

"I don't know what you're mumbling about, unless it's how you seem to like big meat in your mouth, but next time speak up." She said, walking away.

The albino finished dinner, and set the empty plate on his nightstand. He turned his radio to playing heavy metal, and cranked it up like he always did when he needed to think. What he had said to her did set something off. He had only meant that she and Hungary both refused to do girl things, insisting on fighting until the bitter end, when they realized that men were superior at such things. But it had brought up a valid point. Hungary, though his sister, was his best friend, and he had wanted her to stay with him, but instead she had chosen to stay with that prick Austria, and it was ages before he saw her again. In this situation, he was starting to care for a girl as more than a nice ass, and she may as well be taken already. His brother was in love with her, and you don't steal your brother's girl, especially when he gets way less ass than you do.

At least that's why he told himself he wouldn't just corner her and kiss her, like he would any other girl. The truth was that he was just as scared of being rejected as his blonde sibling, and, should he do so, he was afraid that whatever little spark she seemed to see in him would die out, drenched in the cold water of loneliness once more. Because she wasn't just any other girl. She was the first person he had loved since the cold war, when he had fallen for one of Russia's subordinates, Georgia.

A/N- The next chapter will contain the grueling details of Prussia's time as a prisoner of Russia, as well as the nation of Georgia. I would put it in here, but then this chapter would just be abnormally long. Enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

_The time was:The Cold War_

"_We are to be having a new guest everyone!" The Russian man yelled, alerting his entire house to the presence of the blue uniformed albino begrudgingly following him. _

"_Prisoner, not guest. The awesome me would never stay here if I wanted to." He spat, glaring as everyone gathered around._

"_That's Mr. Germany's brother."Lithuania said, as if he hadn't known that already._

"_I am the Awesome Prussia! West is my brother, not the other way around." He shouted angrily. _

"_I am Georgia, this is Lithuania, and Latvia. Estonia is around here somewhere, and the master's sisters are around here somewhere." A young woman with red hair in a braid down her back said quietly. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were shy and cerulean. In spite of the dark evening, she seemed to shine, and he found himself blushing, something he hadn't done since he had walked in on what he thought was his brother in the woods with breasts. It was just weird. _

"_Prussia will be helping with the chores, and you will show him what to do, Georgia." The tall man instructed. _

"_Come with me, please." She said, smiling lightly. He followed her without a word, like a lost puppy. _

_They had learned that Prussia was no good with cooking, nor cleaning. He always made a bigger mess than he cleaned up, and well, that just wouldn't do. He was sent to chopping wood, something that was usually reserved for punishment. Meaning that he was permanently being punished. _

_He sat in the cold, freezing as well as sweating his ass off in the cold winter of Russia. He vowed that should he ever get back home, he would never complain about German winters again. When the wood was chopped and stacked, he went back inside, and sat by the fire, exhausted. His muscles ached, and he was breathing heavily, further freezing his cold lungs. To make things worse, he was catching a cold, and he really didn't think that Russia would let him take any time off for sickness. _

"_Are you alright, I could hear you sneezing from the kitchen." The red haired girl asked, and he immediately put on his cocky grin._

"_Of course I'm fine. It takes more than weather to hurt me." He said, looking away in a cool pose, the same one he had told Spain would help make Romano respect him so many years ago._

"_Well, some hot tea won't hurt anyway. If nothing else, it would give me an excuse to drink some myself." She said ,smiling, and obviously seeing through his lie of being well._

"_Fine, but only so that your girly body doesn't give out on you. I'm fine." After finishing that sentence, he went into a fit of sneezing. She giggled, and he glared. _

_As Winter warmed into the short Russian Summer, his cold only seemed to get worse. He realized that it was the cold a nation got when their country was in economic crisis, and not one from chopping snow in the winter. Ever present was that kind, soft-spoken woman, always trying to care for him the best she could, in spite of her other duties._

"_Georgia, why are the dishes not finished?" Russia asked, a smile on his face, but they both knew he was angry._

"_I said that I would do them." The albino lied, causing both Russians to look at him strangely "She wasn't feeling well, so I said that I'd also do her chores."_

"_Well then, you are to blame, birdie." Purple eyes opened, and Prussia nearly regretted taking the blame, as Russia pulled out that rarely used whip. It was only used on him, since he already chopped wood. He calmly removed his shirt, and stood, back to the bastard, trying not to show his fear to the woman looking at him fretfully. He already had a fever, and the lashings wouldn't help. He put his hands in his pockets and clenched them into fists. He closed his eyes as the first of ten fell, causing him to wince. By the seventh he was nearly breaking his face he was setting his jaw so hard. On the tenth, he sort of gave in, and released and involuntary grunt of pain. As the master of the house put the bloody item away, the albino was still fighting away the signs of pain. _

"_You shouldn't have done that."She said once Ivan was out of the room._

"_And you shouldn't have been taking care of me, but you did it anyway." He said, sitting on the couch, gritting his teeth._

"_You don't have to fight the pain, I won't think less of you." She told him, stroking his ivory toned cheek_

"_Men aren't supposed to cry, especially not in front of people, and most especially not in front of girls."_

"_Men aren't supposed to be caged like animals either, you're already under extenuating circumstance" She told him, gently pushing his face to meet her eyes with the shocked ruby of his. He blushed and she smiled at him. He put his pointer finger on her chin and pulled her lips to his, only for a brief moment. If most kisses had sparks, this was the fire of London, and all the walls he had carefully constructed crumbled like charred buildings._

"_He's only getting worse, it's more of a burden to you than anything else. Please, just let him go." The red head begged, and Prussia walked by just in time to hear it through the thin walls of the manor._

"_You want me to let the birdie go, then?" That voice said, the one that sounded like a child, but never seemed to hold a child's innocence. _

"_Yes. His brother will take care of him, and you'd get America off your back, and that daughter of his. Just send him home to get well, Sir." After a moment of silence, he kicked in the door._

"_I don't need anyone begging for me, Georgia." He said, walking in, trying to look cool in spite of his high, disorienting fever, and wracking cough._

"_And it's the one in question, apparently eavesdropping,da?"_

"_I don't need you to owe this bastard any favors for me, so just stop it. I won't die. West will show up any day now, with half a dozen panzer squads, and We'll both go back to Germany." He said, the raising in his voice setting off a hack._

"_Gil!" She shouted, running to his side. In spite of his illness, he stood and shoved her behind him as Russia started looking angry._

"_Our children are conspiring against us, aren't they?" He said, looking down and snarling. _

_In only a couple seconds, the Russian had pulled his pipe, and swung. The red-head pushed him forward, causing the pipe to hit not his ribs, but the side of her head. She fell to the floor, an unnatural and disturbing hole in her head. His eyes grew wide and tearful when he saw it, and he crawled next to her lifeless body. He clutched her to him, trying to pretend she wasn't growing colder with each passing second. Like the only person he had ever truly let in hadn't just been smashed with a pipe. Like the only one he could show weakness to was the strong one when it really counted. Like he didn't feel so weak._

"_This is not what I meant to do. I did not want to hurt her,da?" Russia said, looking distressed as well. _

"_When West gets here, I'm going to tell him to make sure he kills you slowly, you fucking piece of shit." He said, not even raising his voice. Just the sheer tone of the words was enough to send chills up even Ivan's spine, and he looked at them both with pity. Even though the male had a heartbeat, they were both corpses._

_Laying on the bed, barely alive because of the terrible state of his economy, Prussia thought that he might not make it out after all. The only thing keeping him fighting was all of the times he and Georgia had talked about what they'd do when they got freedom. He wanted to do all of those things, and live life for her. He took a deep breath, and was ready to exhale for the last time, waiting to see her in the afterlife he had fought for as a child, when Russia burst into his door. Offering no explanation, he started ripping up clothes and making him look abused. Well, more than he already did. _

_He heard His brother's voice down the hall, and he busted into the room with a blonde beauty next to him, with the tell-tale cowlick of an American nation. That had to be Alfred's daughter. So he was rescued, but far too late, and at too high a price._

He smiled sadly. He wondered if she would mind him loving another girl, only just a little less than he loved her. Then he realized that she would probably chastise him for not loving her just as much. She was just a good, giving person like that, a quality, among several others, that he admired about them both.

He turned off his music, and went upstairs with his plate, if nothing else but to catch another look at her.

A/N- Sorry for the obnoxiously short chapter, but it is the only one under 2000 words, I promise. Thank you for reading, and I hope you review!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N-I've never had to get glasses, and defiantly not in Germany, so Please forgive the fact that the optometrist has magical glasses conjuring abilities, but he does...

"Hey, Sophia..." Ludwig peered in to see her finishing a stack of paperwork.

"Yeah?" She looked up, taking off the glasses.

"You're optometrist appointment is in an hour, so I just wanted to let you know we should leave in a few minutes." He said, and she nodded, standing up. She was already dressed, so there wasn't really much to do, he just felt like he should warn her in case she needed to do something before leaving.

"I'll put on my shoes and be right down." She answered, grabbing a pair of sneakers, and sitting on the bed. He nodded and went down the stairs to wait for her. She ran down a moment later, and the two of them got into his Volkswagen SUV.

"After the appointment, would you like me to show you around the city. You'll be staying here a while, after all." He asked, and she looked at him, smiling.

"Sure. But I have to ask, what's your human name? We'd get awkward looks if I called you Germany in public."

"Ludwig."

"How about Ludi? It has a better ring to it." She requested, and he smiled, nodding. She was calling him that name again, and it was almost back to normal. If she would just put that jacket on and remember, he'd be happy enough to die with no regrets.

"Wow. You never realize how blind you are until you can see how everyone else does." She said, blinking behind the lenses so thick they should have belonged to an 80 year old woman. Well, this was an 80 year old woman, but the rest of her body gave no indication, and it looked strange. You'd think she stared into the sun or something. He walked out of the office, shielding his own eyes from the sun's glare, and she did the same.

"How could you see before? The doctor declared you legally blind."

"I don't know. The scary thing is, I drove without a problem. What if I can only drive when I can't see, and know that I have good vision, I'll wreck and hurt someone?" She wondered, starting to freak out.

"Then I'll drive you anywhere you need to go. And besides, as unlikely as that is, why don't you care if you get hurt in the wreck?"

"Well, it was my fault, and I can't die from it, so a little pain is just a punishment for endangering everyone else. I could kill a family of seven, and then I'd feel terrible for the rest of my life. It's one thing to kill an enemy soldier during war, but not kids and civilians."

"Well, any particular place you want to visit in Berlin?" He asked, and she shrugged, getting into the passenger seat. She buckled her seat belt as he got in, and did the same. He started the engine, and then drove only three stores down to an ice cream parlor. A small shop that was clearly family owned, not a chain.

"What is this place, Ludi?" She asked, calling him his nickname even thought they were still in the car.

"It's an ice cream shop owned by a good friend of the family. We've known them for four generations, and they make the best ice cream in Berlin." He bragged, and she got up and practically ran into the shop, and he shook his head. She was American at heart, ins spite of her other nationalities mixed, in, and that man may be the only person who enjoyed ice cream more than him. He followed her in while she looked at all the different flavors like a little kid.

"This all looks so good, Ludi! I think this is better than what Dad has back in America!" She said.

"An American, huh? That's quite the complement for someone who hasn't even tasted them yet." An elderly woman smiled, leaning against the counter.

"My Dad is American, but I'm half German, as well. I live here, but this is the first time Ludi's brought me here." She explained, "Oh, how about just a simple chocolate cone?"

"That will be fine. You seem pretty exited, and for a first timer, It'll be on me." She said, smiling.

"I couldn't do that. This ice cream looks too wonderful to be free." she protested, shaking her head.

"Well, it is."

"I'm paying for it." She insisted as the blonde, motherly woman made her order.

"You'll eat this and you won't give me a cent." The woman demanded.

"I'm paying for this ice cream, ma'am." She said, and they glared at each other.

"She's just trying to be nice, Sophia. Take the gift and say thank you." Ludwig told her, confused as to why she was so intent on spending money.

"It's not that I'm not grateful, it's just that not paying for something demeans it, as well as making me feel like a freeloader, lest I owe her a favor instead. And I like none of those things." she said, pulling out her wallet and placing a five dollar bill on the counter before walking away with her ice cream.

"I'm sorry, Elda. She's a bit strange." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. This woman had been like a mother to him, and the largest part of the reason he was the way he was. She had been a young woman when he was really starting to grow, and she had taught him real right from wrong, instead of the twisted logic his drunk of an elder brother had given him.

"She's strong, and good. And the woman who I remember from before, am I wrong?" She raised a snowy eyebrow, and he nodded.

"Yes, but she doesn't remember." He said, looking at the floor sadly.

"Then you have to make her. Or at least make her realize that she loves you." The elder said, doing her duty and giving him wisdom.

"What do you mean, make her realize?"

"She was in love with you before, and somewhere she still knows that. You just have to make her find that."

"She has brain damage, she doesn't remember anything but the past few months." He clarified, thinking that Elda didn't know what he was talking about.

"But the heart is a special thing. No matter how many times it is broken, it can be made to heal, and that is where her love for you lies." Golden eyes looked into his blue ones with both the depth of age, and the shine of life, and he nodded. He didn't really know how he was to utilize her advice, but his gut told him that she was giving him the right words, but just not in the right order.

"Now here's your chocolate sundae, Ludwig." She handed him his usual order. He nodded, placed some money on the counter and walked away, to the table where Sophia sat. She was chatting with a little girl of about six, who had flowing waves of blonde hair. She was in a little pink dress, and her big blue eyes looked at the American in wonder.

"My friend is here, and you probably have things to do, so goodbye, kiddo." She smiled big at the child, who looked sad to leave.

"Come on, Celeste, it's time to leave." The girls mother, a high-strung-looking woman in a business suit with a blue tooth and a tapping foot said, ushering her daughter out of the shop.

"You've never met that kid, have you?" he asked, sitting down and digging in to his frozen dairy treat.

"'No, she just dropped a piece to her doll, and I picked it up for her. Then she started talking to me, and her Mom looked crazy, so she must have just needed a smile." She responded, nearly done with hers. "How did you know?"

"Other than the fact that you've only been in Berlin for a few days, you were always really good with kids. They loved you, and you loved them." He explained, and she shrugged.

"I suppose I'm practically a child myself, reliability speaking. I was just born in a grown-ups body, so that's how I was expected to act." she said, a little sad.

"I'm sorry about that. It was my fault." He said, and she frowned.

"No, it isn't anyone's fault. I was born to do something, and I did it. It's just...never mind. I shouldn't be sating such depressing things." She smiled, but he could tell it was faked. He let it go for the moment, never one to pry, but hoped she didn't think that it was the end of the conversation.

Next, they simply drove around, with him pointing out anything that he thought may be useful in the future. She payed close attention, her German senses telling her to be practical and objective. She mentally cataloged each location, making a map in her head. This lasted all day, and the sun began to set when Ludwig took her to one last location. An empty park near his house with an entrance covered in ivy. He led her through the foliage, hacking at it with his hands. When they got inside the space, it was overgrown, but beautiful. Wildflowers were everywhere, and the sun was setting on all of it. It was one of the most lovely things she had ever seen, and she was smiling as he led her to a fountain to sit down. She sat to his right, looking at the orange and red of the fading sun.

"This is so pretty. I can't believe it's abandoned." She said, her face softening even more than usual, showing the rare but glorious true smile. She smiled quite a bit, but they were almost always at least a little but forced. _"Not as pretty as you"_ was what Ludwig wanted to say, as he pulled her full, dark pink lips to his. That's what someone in one of his romance novels would do, or any other guy out with a beautiful woman and a perfect mood. But he was romantically retarded, so he didn't do anything of the sort.

"Ja." Was his true response. She felt the urge to lay her head on his shoulder, or her hand in his, or just scoot a little closer to him, but she didn't know if it was appropriate or not. She just looked at the sun, until it was fully hidden behind the horizon, and they were in the darkness of the nearly new moon. They used Ludwig's flashlight app to get back to the car, and headed home.

Back at the house, Prussia was eating microwave pizza for dinner, and waiting for his housemates to come home. He was aware that they had headed out to the optometrist, but it defiantly shouldn't have taken that long. Maybe his little brother finally sealed the deal, and they were in a hotel for the night. His heart and stomach sank at just the thought, and that just made him even sadder. He was supposed to understand that he wasn't who she was supposed to be with by now, but he didn't. It may have been the eldest, pampered child in him coming out, but wanted to at least have a fighting chance, and he had it now. The only problem was that he would have to choose between her and his brother, because West would certainly hate him should he get the girl.

Just as his depression was reaching an apex, Ludwig walked in, carrying a sleeping Sophia in his arms. She was resting against his chest as if she had always done so, and he nearly broke skin he clutched his fist so hard.

"What the hell is with this, West? I thought that you two weren't together?" He asked, seeming as uncaring as possible.

"We aren't She just fell asleep in the car, so I'm bringing her in. Be quiet!" He hissed, and the albino's spirits rose a little.

Germany carried her up to her room, placing her on the bed and covering her up. He smiled at her, simply watching the peaceful face of her rest. Until she started to stir. Her expression contorted into one of pain, and she started whimpering. He shook her shoulder, trying to wake her up, but she was always a heavy sleeper.

"L-Ludi..." She started squirming, and tears formed in her eyes. She shook her harder, until she gasped awake, looking pale and fragile. He noticed that she had dark circles under her eyes when he wiped away the tears, and there were veins in the whites of her eyes.

"I'm right here, Sophia." He said, but she just jumped up, and he was horrified when she threw up in the small trashcan by her desk. She sat on her knees, hugging her arms around herself, obviously fighting more tears.

"I'm fine, Ludi. Just go to bed." She lied, her voice cracking with the sound of crying.

"Not in this state. You look sick. Are you sure you don't need a doctor or something?" He put a hand on her shoulder, and she shrugged him off.

"There's no need to worry about me, Ludi. Really, I'm fine." She gave him a fake smile, and he just looked at her.

"Am I the one your dream was about, that has you like this? You were saying my name, and now you won't talk to me..."

"No, you aren't the one hurting me. Just go to bed, alright? I've done this plenty of times in the past, and I can do it again." She said, stubborn as always.

"I'm sure you can, but that doesn't mean you have to. I'm here if you need me, and I won't think less of you for admitting that you do." He said, standing, giving her what he hoped was a meaningful look, and walking across the hall to his own room.

She sat in the corner of her bed, sobbing. The nightmare had added a part. This time, Ludwig died, shot in the heart by the mysterious person who had haunted her. It had disturbed her further than her own pain, and she had no idea why.


	7. Chapter 7

When the loud beep of Ludwig's alarm woke him, he found that he was missing the smell of food. Then he noticed that the bed was oddly warm, and he looked over to find that Sophia was dead to the world beside him. Her face was full of peace, and he smiled. Then he stopped to think why she was in his bed, and then the fact that he was in nothing but his underwear, and she was in a loose tank top and short cotton shorts that hugged her body. Blush rose to his Aryan face, and he put a hand over his mouth, trying not to stare at the long exposed legs, or the bare stomach shown by her raised shirt. He just got up and went to the bathroom to shower, hoping she would be up and dressed by the time he got out.

Sophia was sleeping great, it was the longest night's rest she could remember, but then the dream came back. It was as it was angry at her for managing to avoid it for so long. As the blade cut across her back, it felt twice as painful as she remembered it being. She screamed, only to hear a gruff, familiar voice.

"Sophia..." Ludwig said, walking into the shadowy room of her torturous nightmare.

She screamed at him to leave, but his yells of pain soon chorused with hers. She had no clue how the mysterious figure could torture both of them at the same time, but it was done, and she found herself screaming more for him than herself.

She shrieked awake, breathing as if she had just run a marathon. Once again, she found Ludwig staring at her with warm blue eyes, and she threw her arms around him, not caring for what was proper at this moment, only that the closer she got to him, the farther the memory of the dream seemed to to go, and she wanted to as far away as possible.

"Are you, alright, Sophia?" A surprising Gilbert asked, throwing the door open. He saw his brother wrapped in both a towel from the waist down and Sophia's embrace, and in his room to boot. "What did you do, West? I heard her scream." He demanded, thinking that his overbearing brother had done the unthinkable and hit her.

"She had a nightmare, bruder, and you aren't helping by yelling." He said softly, petting her air soothingly. Gilbert thought it looked like someone petting a kitten and was disgusted

"I-I'm fine. Really. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble for you both." She said, getting up and going to her room. The brothers heard the click of a turning lock, and sighed.

"What kind of nightmare causes people to scream like that?" the elder wondered aloud.

"I was about to find out until you blundered in here like the idiot that you are."

"I can't be that big an idiot, can I? You seem pretty smart and I was the one who raised you from a baby, wasn't I?" He spit back.

"Only because I made sure that I would never be comparable to you, idiot. And let's not forget just who's house you live in, because I don't see you even looking for a job to get your own place." The younger retorted, standing up and grabbing a pair of boxers and putting them on.

"Because you inherited your country from me? If I hadn't done all the work, Germany wouldn't exist, and you'd still be one of Vati's little tribes! And not even an important on, either."

"Yes, because obviously watching him die and getting all of his stuff is such hard work, you lazy prick!" Germany threw his hand against the wall, rattling the paintings through the entire house.

"Don't try and intimidate me, _little_ brother! I fought people bigger than you when I was a little kid, you're nothing." He said, setting his shoulders back, and looking like he was ready for a fight.

" No, you sorry piece of shit, _you're_ nothing. Nothing but a freeloader and an ass who thinks that because he was Daddy's favorite he's still somebody. Now get the fuck out of my room, and down to your basement before I decide that I don't want you there, either." He shouted, and the albino went to do just that when they noticed Sophia at the door.

"He's more than that,Germany. You just can't see it. He may be lazy, and act dumb, but he's a good person, and I don't need glasses to be able to see that much." She said.

"If you love him so much, then why not just live down there with him?" He said, still raising his voice, and she looked at him for a moment, giving him time to take it back. But then she turned away, hiding more tears, and followed Gilbert into the basement.

"Why would you do that for me, Sophia?" Gilbert asked, looking at her sadly as he came out of the shower, wearing only a pair of boxers.

"Because, I hate when people talk to each other like that, especially when it isn't true. Please don't make me regret it, okay." She said softly, sitting in the corner of his bedroom, head on her knees and arms wrapped around her legs.

"Thank you, and I'll try." He said, sitting next to her and lifting her onto his lap, replacing her displaced arms with his own, enjoying the warmth. He rested his head against the wall, and she rested hers against his chest.

"I don't know what to do, Gil." She said, staring with half-lidded eyes into nothing in particular.

"What do you mean?"

"I wish I could remember. I fell like I'm forgetting something that's really important, and it's eating me away."

"I wish that I could just start over like you." He told her, and she looked up at him. "I've been around for so long, and West was right, all I did was claim what was really my father's doing. I've hurt more people than I can count, and let down even more than that. I wish that I could just forget all of that and start again, fresh."

"It's not really a fresh start. Everyone else remembers me, has expectations of what I should be like, and I don't even know what they are. So I just have to try and be everything, so that I don't let anyone down, but I can't do it. I can't be what everyone expects of me, Gil. I'm just a little kid." She confessed, gripping his arm as tears ran down her cheek.

"I don't have any expectations of you, so that's not a problem with me. And I don't want you to be anything other than you." He said, rubbing her back in soft circles.

"Thank you. That means more than you think." She smiled, and rested against his chest again, falling asleep to the strong beat of his heart, and the comforting sound of his breathing. She slept with no nightmares, her sub conscience obviously content that the Prussian could defend her against them. She wondered why that had never worked with her father, or why she felt guilty cuddling up to the albino. As if she already belonged to another man, perhaps one she had no recollection of.

Prussia was happy that she hadn't simply shoved him away, as he had thought she would. Instead she was fairly comfortable with him, even falling asleep, and he was happy to note that she wasn't screaming as she had been when left in the custody of his brother.

Ludwig went outside, into the small bit of woods behind his home. He wrapped his hands in layer after layer of gauze and started punching a tree that looks fairly sturdy. He hated his brother for coming in and screwing up the little moment he had with Sophia, but most of all he hated himself, for pushing, no, shoving her away. He wanted her to be more comfortable around him and yet he had exiled her to the basement. He had looked her in the eye after yelling at her, seen that sadness in her blue orbs and said nothing. He had lost his cool, something he prided himself on maintaining, and she had suffered because of it. Now he didn't know what he was supposed to do. If she would even speak to him anymore. She was forgiving, but how could he take advantage of that fact?

He was the same monster he had always been, a control freak who hurt anything he got close to. Whether it was his brother, his country, or the woman he loved, they had done nothing but suffer since he had come into there lives. Gil was right, he had taken his country from him, making it Germany instead of Prussia, and that was the only reason he wasn't the one in the basement right now. And then Sophia, she obviously saw something in him, something that made her walk away with him, and he was scared that she saw more in the albino than she did in him. Scared, and, in a sick masochistic way, relieved. If she fell in love with his brother, she wouldn't be further harmed by him. He wouldn't be able to take her fragile heart and rip it into bloody pieces, and he thought that, given the right circumstances, his brother could be a good enough guy. Better than him, at least. He finally headed back inside nearly two hours later, trying to plan how he was going to apologize to her, and try and explain that it shouldn't change anything.

Sophia came upstairs to make dinner, which was some burgers that she had asked Germany to pick up the last time he went to the store. She finished them without anyone approaching her, and she had to call the men to the table. Instead of waiting for his food to be brought to him, Gilbert came in and sat next to her at the two-person table, glaring at his brother. Ludwig silently ate, and the tension was so thick she wasn't sure if she could cut it with a knife if she tried. She stared at her plate for a while, and then she just stood, without touching a bite.

"What's wrong, Sophia?" Gilbert asked.

"I'm not hungry." She said, giving the men a small smile.

"You need to eat. You haven't eaten all day." Ludwig pointed out, and she just shrugged.

"It's burgers and you're American, so just eat it, please?" The albino tried giving her puppy dog eyes, but she just turned away.

"I think I'm gonna go out for awhile. I might pick something up on my way home." She said, straightening her glasses, and going out the door. They both sighed, and glared. Each wanted to blame the other, but in truth blamed themselves, and it was simply an awkward night in the Belshmidt household.

When she came back into the home, she wondered if she should go to her room, or into the basement. She felt as though she was making a choice that was far greater than where she should sleep, and she didn't know why. As if she was a character in a book, and everyone else could tell exactly what her choice would entail, but she didn't have the perspective to do so. She went up to her room, deciding that she wasn't very tired anyway, having had two excellent bouts of sleep, and not wanting to wake up either German brother. She closed her door, and started doing the papers she should have accomplished that day, trying not to fall behind.

A/N- So in the original I had posted, there wasn't a romance rivalry, but I think it could add a little something to the story, and assist in developing character, so I've added it. As a consequence, this story with be much longer than the other, as only one of the major events in the original has taken place here. For anyone who's read the half-written sequel I had started before re-doing this, you know who she chooses, but whatever. I hope that all of you enjoy, and will review this story, as well as read my others.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, Ludi, Dad decided to have a Fourth of July party at his place. He told me that I could invite you and Gil if I wanted to. Would you like to come?" She asked him at dinner, Gilbert in his room once again.

"If you want me to go, then why not? I suppose it will be a vacation." The strict German agreed, loosening up each day that passed by. He even wore his hair down now unless he needed to go somewhere official. He was wearing jeans, something inconceivable before, and his collared short wasn't accompanied by a tie. He wore brown leather boots, and a more frequent smile.

"And here I thought that word was one you didn't know." She said smiling and eating another piece of toast.

"Is that so? Well, I'll be the most relaxed person in the world for the next three days."

"I dunno. Dad has relaxing made into an art form."

"When do I lose to anyone but you at anything?" He asked, and she laughed.

"The only reason I beat you at anything is that I have super powers. In a fair fight, you'd win." She assured him.

"Without your strength, fighting a woman still wouldn't be a fair fight." He countered.

"All right, we can settle this. I'll arm wrestle you, and then I'll know how much strength you have, to match it in our fight." She suggested, and he glared at her, as if searching for lies.

"Fine. Loser cleans Gilbert's room and does the laundry for a week."

"Now define loser. As in, the one who loses the fight or..."

"The one who wins looses, but we're too competitive to throw anything, so I trust you." He said, and she nodded.

"Alright, hold out your arm." She said, and he did so. She nodded to him to start, and he applied pressure, which she met. She was actually using a good deal of her power when his pale hand finally just hit the table. She nodded, and switched. The same thing happened, and the two went to get changed.

In the backyard/training field, the two squared off, with Gilbert as a judge. It was assumed that he would be unbiased, as he was friends with Sophia and brothers with Ludwig. He called start, and Sophia, ever the aggressor, threw a punch. Ludwig countered with grabbing her wrist and flipping her. Something he had never been able to do before. She had always dug her heels into the ground and ended up being the one to flip him.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Can't use all my strength, remember? Takes a lot of power to counter that." She said through teeth gritted in pain, as she stood back up.

"I can't fight you like this. I can't hurt a woman." He said, frowning.

"Well, you can't give up. That's cheating." She said, and he sighed.

"Just use enough to block me from actually hurting you, alright?"

"I'll try." She said, coming at him again, sliding a foot under his ankle, only to have him flip onto his right hand and kick at her head. Again, she usually caught his foot and sent him flying, but this time his foot went right through her hand and did just that to her. She was once again on the ground, a small wound on her head. Her lip was busted, and bleeding, as well as a swelling hand.

"Okay, this is getting silly. I'll clean my room and do the laundry. It's a tie." Gilbert called, and they both looked at him in shock. He never volunteered for work. Hell, he never did it when ordered, and yet now he was practically begging them to stop a contest that only he would benefit from.

"I'll admit it's a draw, but this contest was dumb to start with. You two can clean his room, and I'll take care of the laundry." She said, and they both nodded. "Oh, and I meant to ask, How'd you like to come party at my dad's place?"

"Seriously? America's parties are always so out of control awesome!" He said, picking her up and hugging her.

"Bro! Put me down, I can't breathe!"

"You can talk, but you can't breathe?" He asked, and started spinning. She laughed maniacally and Ludwig was envious. He couldn't be that carefree if he tried, and yet his brother was simply picking her up and playing with her like they were old friends.

"I'll go upstairs and pack for us, bruder. I guess Sophia can get her own things. I don't know how to pack for a woman." He scratched the back of his head, feeling unwanted.

"This is such an awesome party. This is why I love Americans." Gilbert said, walking into the huge outdoor party with a beer already in his hand. Sophia and Ludwig trailed him, until Sophia noticed her father.

"Daddy!" She called, running to her father and embracing him tightly.

"There's my baby girl! I was waiting for you, you know. Can't celebrate without the whole family." He said back, both of them grinning.

"It's been a while, Sophia." Mathew said, quiet as usual, and she gave him a hug too.

"I've missed you so much! I refuse to play hockey with anyone else." Her smile seemed to be taking up the majority of her face.

"Hey, Sophia! It's me, uncle Carlos." Cuba said, walking up and placing a big kiss on Canada's cheek.

"And Dad hasn't murdered you?"

"He got rid of his commie government, so he's cool now." America said, shrugging.

"You didn't even get to know him as a person before hating him?"

"He was a commie. That's all I needed to know."

"Dad, you deal with China every day, and he's a communist." She scolded.

"Yeah, but I don't let him date my brother, do I. Anyway, I don't really like him either, my boss just makes me pretend because I owe him so much freaking money."

"Whatever. I came to party, so someone hand me a drink and turn on some strobe lights." She joked, though she could use a drink. She went to the table where they were and pulled out a beer, American of course, and drinking it down before grabbing another. She walked through the crowd, a mix of humans and nations, and went to where the fireworks would be. A huge display of blowing shit up, a perfect way to celebrate America and all it stood for.

She was starting to get tipsy when music started, and she found herself being pulled onto the floor. She looked and saw France. Turned out she was a little more than tipsy, though, because when she tried to stop moving, she only succeeded in tripping and landing in his hairy arms. He spun her around, and ground himself against her as she tried to regain her balance.

"Lemme go." She slurred, standing only to be spun off balance. She was about to shout for her dad when two identical guns were pressed to the Frenchman's head. At the other ends were none other than Gilbert and Ludwig, both fairly drunk, but in their heads enough to not miss from that range.

"She said let her go." Ludwig growled, and he took his hands, and other body parts, away, putting his hands up and stepping away.

"Are you alright?" Gilbert asked, helping her regain her balance.

"Yeah. Just a little more off balance than I thought." She smiled back at them, and they rolled their eyes.

"It's the English in her. She can't hold her liquor to save her life." Gilbert joked, having gone out with Arthur enough times to know that he was a super-lightweight.

"I can drink, you bastard. I just got off balance, damn you!" She shouted, wobbling on her feet as she made dramatic movements with her hands.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Sophia, but I think it's time for you to have a sit down and wait for the fireworks." Ludwig said, having plenty of experience dealing with drunks seeing as how he lived with one. She seemed suspicious, but went with him anyway. Luckily, it was nearly time for the show to start, so the men didn't have to make up excuses for long. The shrunken mind of a drunken Sophia was more enraptured with the lights than usual, and was making oohs, and ahs with the rest of them, even though she had seen this same show more than fifty times. Gilbert, more like a boy than a man in the head, was smiling and doing the same. Ludwig found it interesting but was more attentive to the area around him. He was watching for anyone to come close to him, especially France, because he'd wring his neck if he ever came any closer.

He was also focused on how each colorful light not only blew up the sky, but also the beauty of Sophia's face, reflecting off of it perfectly. He blue eyes absorbed every bit of light, and shot it back out twice as wonderful simply from having touched her. She sat between the two men, and he wanted nothing more than feel her head fall onto his waiting shoulder, so that he could lean back and whisper what he was barely courageous enough to think, much less say aloud. That he was madly in love with her, that she told him to jump off of a building and he'd ask which one. That he didn't care about anything else when she was with him, and that it had nearly always been that way. That he wouldn't have made it through life after the war if she hadn't been there.

After the show, he watched her sway, ready to fall asleep. He wanted for her to lean toward him, but she kept going back and forth, as if she was unwittingly trying to torture him with the possibility Instead, she fell onto her back, completely even between the two.

Gilbert's heart sank. He'd had the same hope as his brother, but now none of them meant anything. It was as if God was a teenage girl simply dragging her choice out for the purpose of suspense and the irony of future character development, when it would come into the sequel to make a tragic event even more so. But that was just silly.

They got in the car and took her to America's house, where they were staying. They all went into separate rooms, and both brothers dreamed of the woman on door to either side, wishing that she belonged to them, and wanting a way to tell her that they were already hers.

She had the same dream, even though she was in a house surrounded by strong men who would protect her, not that she even needed the protection to start with. She jerked awake, drenched in sweat with a killer headache, and still slightly drunk. She took a shower and changed into pajamas, before wandering into the hallway. She went into the room on her left, which happened to be Ludwig's, and crawled into his bed. She had deducted that something about Germans made her feel safe enough to sleep, and so she had allowed fate to choose which one she snuck in with tonight, hopefully to awaken before them and her father, lest awkwardness ensue. She slept soundly, and dreamlessly curled against the strong heartbeat of the man who had always been her anchor.

A/N- Thank you to all of those who are reading my story, and any others I have written. Reviewers get free internet pastries baked by France and checked for drugs by Switzerland! Thanks!


	9. Chapter 10

Sophia was the first to wake, with Ludwig still snoring lightly beside her. It was nearly ten in the morning, and she was surprised that he hadn't set an alarm. He had said that he would relax, though, so she supposed that it wasn't too out of character.

She looked at his sleeping face, the brows no longer bunched together in a mix of constant worry as well as his need to squint to see without his glasses. His chest was exposed as well, and she took it in, pale and smooth save a small bit of blonde hair. All of his muscles, as was to be expected, were well shaped and highly attractive. If he ever needed extra money, then he could defiantly come model in America. Women would pay just to be around him, and yet she lived with him. She was allowed to crawl into his bed, and she found that she really liked it here. Not just because she could sleep, but because something about him reeled her in like a fish. She wanted to be close to him, it gave her a feeling of ease that she felt nowhere else, and she wondered what it was. She'd talk it out with her Dad, but she had the sneaking suspicion it was love, and to reveal that to Alfred would likely lead to disaster.

She instead got dressed and called her Uncle, Mathew. He seemed the best choice, as she didn't really know many people outside of her family. He picked up and she mentally rejoiced.

"Yes, Al?" He asked, clearly annoyed at being on the phone with his brother at this time of day.

"It's Sophia." She clarified, and his tone cheered up immediately

"Oh, alright. Did you need something?"

"Sort of. I need to talk to someone about something very important, and I thought you might understand." She said, turning pink at the thought of sharing this with anyone. Even though she knew that He was unlikely to actually tell her secret, as he was rarely heard when he did speak.

"You're in love with one of the German brothers aren't you?" he asked, and she would have spit out her drink if she had one.

"W-was it that obvious? I didn't even know until this morning." She fretted.

"No, I'm just really good at reading people is all. And if it was something you wanted to talk to me about instead of Arthur or Al, it must be something emotional. It was a lucky guess really." He assured her, and then told her to stop biting her fingernails, which she was doing. She cursed as she realized she was apparently quite predictable.

"What should I do, then? I've only known him for a short while, and I don't want him to freak out." She asked, and she could just tell that he was smiling on the other end.

"Which one is it?"

"L-Ludwig." She admitted, and he made an approving sound.

"I'd just wait a while, and tell him if he doesn't gather the courage. But I'd also ask Feliciano, North Italy. He knows Ludwig better than anyone."

"Thank Uncle Mathew. Love you." She said, and he repeated the farewell before hanging up.

"It's breakfast, everyone!" She called through the house. It was bacon and eggs, an American classic, as well as one of her favorites.

She heard no response, and so she went through the house to where all three men were still sleeping. She sighed, and decided to get the worst over with, her Dad. He pushed not a morning person to a new level. He swung a punch at whoever woke him up, and she was the only one who could actually catch it, since she was currently the only one who shared his unnatural strength.

"Dad, breakfast is ready." She shouted, shaking him with one hand and catching the right-handed punch that he threw her way.

"What are we having, Soph?" He asked, and she smiled.

"Eggs and bacon, like real Americans. So get up and eat, or Gil will gulp it all down before you get there." She told him, though she planned to wake him last. Her father jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs, ready to stuff his face before anyone else. She chuckled a bit and headed to Ludwig's room.

He was how she left him, though the sheet was a little farther down, reveling his toned stomach. She blushed, and shook him gently.

"Yeah?" He woke, rubbing his eyes, and she smiled at him.

"Breakfast is downstairs, my Dad is already there, so if you want food, I'd hurry." She said, and he nodded. She smiled again before leaving the room. He watched her hair turn around her like a curtain of golden light bathing an angel that had further earned God's favor. He smiled, an expression his face found easier and easier to form when she stayed with him. The self-depreciation he had felt before started to diminish in light of the fact that someone like her would deign to live with him, and be his friend. While he wished for more, he couldn't say that he was unhappy with the current arrangement He got to see her everyday, and she spoke to him like a person, and not a nation. Feliciano and his siblings were the only ones to do that for as long as he could remember.

"Wait, why did you wake me up last!" Gilbert yelled, running down the stairs in his boxers.

"Dammit, make yourself decent in my father's house!" She shouted after him.

"What? I'm not naked or anything." He protested.

"You may as well be. Just at least put on some pants." She said, throwing him over her shoulder and throwing him back into his bedroom and shutting the door.

"You're very motherly, sometimes, you know." Ludwig praised, walking up behind her in vacation clothes. Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. She thought it fitted him well, and that the dark blue in the shirt brought out the lighter shade in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I don't try to be, I just get a little bossy sometimes." She said, thinking he meant it as the opposite.

"I like that about you. Responsibility is a good thing, no matter what my brother tells you." He smiled at her, and she smiled back, blushing.

"Oh. All I really do is make food. Plenty of people do that every day, Ludi."

"You'll demean yourself at any opportunity, won't you?" Gilbert asked, coming out of his room with a pair of gym shorts on, low at his hips and right past his knees.

"N-no, I just tell the truth." She was blushing further now, as it had apparently become give Sophia complements she didn't think she deserved time, and she was thoroughly embarrassed about it.

"No you don't. You seem to think you're a burden to everyone, when you're really a joy to be around. The man who gets you will be the luckiest in the world."Gilbert said, looking at a wall with nothing on it. Germany had the sneaking hunch that his brother was nearly as in love with Sophia as he, and in the beginning he wanted to push them together. Now he decided that she was smart, and if she chose him, then he'd take the blessing and stop looking the gift horse in the mouth.

"But-"

"No buts. I think we should show her how the rest of the world sees her, right, bruder?" Prussia suggested.

"Nothing sexual, East. I won't let you use this as an excuse to molest her." Ludwig glared at his brother, who shrugged.

"I wouldn't dream of it Ludi." He gave a Cheshire grin, but turned back to her. " We'll both draw her how we see her, and list her good qualities next to it."

"Dammit, you know I can't draw, Gilbert." Germany pointed out angrily.

"I'm sure Sophia here will appreciate the effort, right?" He looked at her expectantly.

"That's nice and all, but I think that we should just all eat breakfast and then hang out at the beach. We're in the Florida keys, so let's enjoy it as thoroughly as possible, alright?" she said, her blush reaching new levels of redness.

"That's no fun. We can't embarrass West with that attitude." The albino complained.

"And? Why must we embarrass him, And I can't imagine that you're too good at drawing either. Ludi probably at least picked some up from Feliciano by osmosis." She challenged, raising an eyebrow at the elder man. Now it was a battle, if only one of wits, and she was supreme in battle.

"Fine, so I can't draw either. The point was that you would look at his first and then be so busy laughing at it that you didn't look at mine, alright?" He looked away, his alabaster skin showing his blush more so even than his pale brother.

"Let's just eat what my dad left behind, which may not be much." She said, walking down the stairs and away from the conversation. Gilbert was annoying her, and Germany was being too...nice, really, for her to deal with properly. He was being like a normal person, and she didn't know what to be around that Germany.

There was little left, and she pretended to eat the same strip of bacon the entire time so that the others would have enough. Her stomach was empty when they set out to the beach with a bag of individually packaged chips and beer. Her father was more than happy to drive them out in his new Prius, which Gilbert made fun of. He said that his boss made him get it, so that he would spend less on gas than he had in his sports car. And keep him from drag racing people, as they could die much more easily than he could.

They arrived, and Sophia watched Alfred and Gilbert run into the water. Ludwig stayed back with her, and she smiled up at him.

"Why don't you go with them? It looks like their having fun." She said, looking up at him with sad eyes.

"Something's eating you. What is it?" He asked, and she looked surprised for a moment before regaining her composure. In reality, she was feeling sick because of the beginning of the migration away from her. She was weakening, and on the track to death, but he didn't need to know that.

"Just not feeling up to it is all. Just because I'm tired doesn't mean you should have to be a party pooper, too." She said, and he frowned.

"I'd be much happier reading a book, anyway. Splashing around like a child isn't really my thing."

"Oh." She said, walking down to the beach and sitting in the sand, getting her canvas pants covered in damp sand. This section was empty, as her father had got it rented out for the party, and the following day as a birthday gift from his boss, who had spent his own money to do it. Sophia couldn't tell if she liked him or not.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, sitting beside her.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." She smiled at him sleepily, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was much much more.

"Go to sleep, I'll make sure nothing happens to you." He said, and she lied down, ready to do just that. Under the warm, Florida sun, and the shielding gaze of Ludwig, she felt that she could do anything. Including live past her allotted time.

He on the other hand, felt like he could fly, that she had felt safe enough around him to just fall asleep like that. Her happy smiled made him have one of his own as he brushed a bit of hair out of her face while the people who raised them acted like kids a few meters away.


	10. Chapter 11

"You be careful, understand Soph?" Alfred fretted as his daughter got ready to go back to Germany.

"Come on Dad, even if I got in trouble, Ludi's like a professional idiot saver at this point from living with Italy, so it's cool." She smiled, but they both knew that no matter how good Ludwig was at saving people, this was likely to be the last fourth of July they celebrated together.

"You make sure noting happens to my little girl, understand?" He glared at the two Germans, who nodded.

"I was over there for fifty years fighting Russia, right? So a peaceful world shouldn't be a problem." She waved goodbye on last time and headed out. They got on the plane, a private one her father got for her so that she didn't run the risk of terrorist attacks after 9/11, even though she would likely live through something like that.

"Why is your Dad suddenly so worried about you? Does he have enemies we aren't aware of?" Ludwig asked, always liking to know the situation.

"No, but he has plenty that you do. Plus I'm his daughter, so of course he'll be worried about me." She told him, and he sighed in relief.

When they landed in Germany, a little kids the two brothers recognized all too well was waiting for them.

"Sophia!" Sealand yelled, jumping into her arms.

"Er...hi?" She responded, having no recollection of the boy she was holding. She hoped she didn't have a son that she had forgotten about or something.

"What do you want, Sealand?" Gilbert asked, frowning.

"I heard that Sophia would be here, so I came to see her. Are you glad to see me?" He asked, getting down, in his little sailor outfit.

"She doesn't remember you, though when she knew you to begin with is a mystery to me." Ludwig said, and she scowled as the little boy teared up.

"I don't really remember much of anything, actually. I didn't even remember Dad when I first woke up, or anything before. But you seem like a nice enough kid." She took off his hat and ruffled his hair.

"R-really?" He asked, and she nodded, bending down to his level. He wrapped his arms tightly around her neck, and she smiled, rubbing his shoulder blades.

"It's fine, kiddo. What's with the tears? Is me being awake sad for you or something?" She said sarcastically

"Of course not, but you don't remember me, and that's sad." He said, looking at her in the eyes.

"So we just get to make new memories, right?" She told him, and his eyes opened wide, as if he'd never thought of that before.

"Yeah. Wanna go play now?" He asked excitedly

"Actually I have a lot of work to do, but maybe later, alright?" she ruffled his mess of hair again and stood when he nodded, running off to do whatever it was little micro nations did.

"That little brat is annoying. You'll regret not blowing him off soon enough." Gilbert said, and both blondes glared at him.

"I was told you were annoying, too. Should I have blown you off?" She asked, and his red eyes narrowed.

"You probably should have. I think you're the only woman to come into my awesome room and keep her clothes on." He said, starting the walk out of the airport. She sighed and followed him, until a wave of dizziness hit her. Her vision went blurry and she felt a sharp pain in both her chest and her head before she blacked out.

Ludwig and Gilbert were shocked when she went from being completely functional to passing out on the cold stone floor of the airport. Ludwig picked her up, and felt for a pulse. He panicked when he didn't feel one, until a moment later when one appeared, faint but present.

"What's wrong, she'd breathing, right West?" Gilbert bothered him, worried about the girl in his arms.

"She had a heart attack." He told him, realizing what he had just been witness to.

"What? But she doesn't even eat unhealthy foods. I could see her dad, but not her."

"Move aside, sir. I'm a paramedic." One of the passerby said, and he did so. While this man would have a hard time caring for a nation long-term, he could at least say whether or not she'd wake up.

"Will she wake up?" He asked, and the man bit his lip.

"Yes, but I have no idea how." He responded. " Her heartbeat is faint, but after that, it shouldn't have started on it's own. She should have needed CPR at least." He just looked confused.

"She's a remarkable woman." Was all Gilbert said, and Ludwig nodded, smiling in relief

"At this rate, she'll recover on her own, but do you want me to call an ambulance for her?" The man asked, but Ludwig shook his head.

"I'll take her home, and then to our family doctor." Ludwig said, lifting the girl and standing up.

He carried her out of the building, and placed her gently into the backseat of his car. He was mildly annoyed that no one even stopped to ask what was going on. Maybe if he had been carrying a young child, but a fully grown woman, knocked out and in the back of his car? He should have been interrogated or something. He shook his head and got in the driver's seat, and started driving.

"She's waking up, West." Gilbert said, in the back with her. He pulled over on the side of the road, one with few people thankfully, and went to his back seat.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting up and holding the part of her head that had been bashed against the floor in her fall.

"You had a heart attack, Sophia. You said you felt tired, you didn't say anything that would lead to that." He said, his blue eyes sparkling with worry.

"I'm a nation. It's not like I can actually die, right?" She tried to assure him, but it didn't work.

"No. I want to know what's wrong with you now." He said, getting a little angry.

"I'm fine. Why won't you leave me alone?"

"Because I want to help you, and you won't let me, you stubborn woman!"He was nearly shouting now, and she and Gilbert met eyes. He shrugged, and she sighed.

"I'll tell you when we get home, but I want to talk to you alone." She relented, and he nodded, sated at least for the moment. The rest of the drive was quite, and the tension was thick. Sophia wondered how she was supposed to word this, without scaring him. Even better, what was a good enough lie to satisfy him until she had to tell him, that would explain why she was having random heart attacks. _No, _ she thought, _it's enough with the lies._

At the house, they all walked in and there was another moment of awkward silence.

"I'm going to the bathroom, be ready to tell me when I come out." the younger brother said, and she nodded.

"How am I supposed to tell him? He'll freak the fuck out!" She whispered to the elder.

"I dunno. But there's something I need to tell you, too." He said, deciding that if she could muster the courage to tell her secret, then he could too.

"Yeah?" She looked up at him, and saw that he was blushing furiously.  
"Dammit, I'll just show you." He said, loud enough that the whole house could hear it, and pressed a burning kiss to her lips. She opened her eyes wide, and didn't kiss back. In fact, she tried to back away, but he just followed her, placing a hand around her lower back. His eyes were closed and he didn't notice that she was getting mad. She mumbled to stop, but she couldn't make it audible through the other pair of lips on hers. He thought she was just making a little sound.

"What the hell is going on, East?" Germany shouted, coming out of the bathroom. Gilbert pulled away, and looked like a child who'd been caught stealing cookies.

"I-"

"You knew I loved her, you bastard! What kind of brother does that?" He shouted, grabbing his brother up by the collar, ready to punch him.

"Stop it!" Sophia shouted, falling to her knees and sobbing. The two men looked at her. "Gil, I like you a lot, but only as a friend. Ludi, I love you too, but because the bases are being shut down I'm dying before Christmas, and that's why I had a heart attack. I have one every time a large number of troops leave my territory. I'm sorry I never told you before but I didn't want you to worry." She blurted out all at once, and Germany dropped his brother to the floor, deciding that he wasn't even worth the attention to punch at this point.

"But you were kissing him?" Ludwig hadn't even processed the fact that she was going to die yet, but while his brain buffered, he could at least address this situation.

"He kissed me, not the other way around. I'm sorry." She was curled in a ball, watching the world crash down around her, a world built on lies and things she didn't understand.

"I didn't know you didn't like it, it wasn't like that."

"Shut up, Gilbert." Ludwig said, wrapping her in his arms, and lifting her.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed into his chest.

"Shh, it's alright." He said, soothingly. "There's nothing to be sorry for."

"But I lied to you." She evidently saw this as reason to depreciate herself further.

"What's your point. Everyone has their secrets, Sophia. You aren't a monster because you have yours." He laid her in his bed, and stretched out beside her.

She smiled, and cuddled into his chest, a slight weight lifted from her chest.

Gilbert sat in his room, staring interchangeably between the floor and the gun in his hand. He had the fact that the one girl alive he actually gave a damn about as more than a convenient place to put his dick, and she didn't like him back. Then he had that she would in fact be staying in the same house as him, and that she still liked him as a friend. She still would be hanging out with him, and they'd be able to talk and have fun until December. But he wondered if it was the same. He knew that he had no chance of having her, and that she would be doing the things he wanted to do with her with his brother in the other room. He'd have to look at her and not think of anything beyond friendship, and that may well kill him more painfully than the gun in his hand.

But then he'd not only lose Sophia, he'd never be able to see Georgia again either, as he was damn sure she would be going to heaven. He figured that he would die soon enough, and wrote a letter, placing it in his drawer before going to sleep.

Ludwig watched her sleep, and realized that this wasn't just a friendly arrangement any longer. She was his, and he was hers. He'd never have to look at her and worry about whether or not she liked him as well. She loved him, and was happy to be his until she died. And there was his problem. She loved him, yes, she was here for him, and yet she would be gone so shortly, and he'd be left begging God to die with her. Emotions fought within him like young children, unused to being given freedom, and now were going crazy with it. He was angry with America for not convincing his boss not to close the bases, and angry with himself for not noticing. He had heard that the bases were closing, but he had never put two and two together, thinking that since she was American, so long as America lived, so too would she. He was in a pit of sadness that she would be yanked away from him so soon, or rather at all. He was happy of course, because in the little time that she had left, he would be free to hold her as much as he wanted, and hopefully she would feel free to tell him anything else that was on her mind. He squeezed her tightly, placing a kiss upon her forehead before drifting off himself.


	11. Chapter 12

A/N- The following contains scenes not appropriate for all audiences. If you don't like it, then skip down until you see the part that says SMUT END. Thank you for not flaming me in advance.

Sophia awoke, still cradled in the arms of her lover. She smiled into his chest, and didn't want to get up. But there was that damnable alarm clock, wailing away like a child who wanted attention.

He rolled over and punched it off, and then looked at the bed as if deciding whether or not it was necessary to get up.

"Should we get up?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"Just lay down. A few hours won't have anyone killed." She said, and he looked sad as he got back under the covers.

"But I want to do as many things with you as possible, before Christmas." He said, and she sighed, thinking that this was exactly why she didn't tell him.

"There's plenty of time. And nothing is waiting for us at this ungodly hour. Seriously, I have no idea why you choose it." She joked, sleepily latching on to him again. She felt him blush, and his mouth opened just to close again. He wanted to say something, but must have found it too awkward.

"Just say it, Ludi." She told him, and she could just imagine the surprise on his face.

"Well, we are together now, right?" he asked, and she looked up at him.

"Where is this going?" She asked with a quizzical smile.

"There are... other things two adult lovers could do in a bed." He suggested, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck.

"You sir are trying to seduce me." She said, and he still looked away.

"Well, I've been waiting for seventy years, you only remember seventy days." He defended, and she laughed.

"Did it sound like I was angry?" She laughed, and he looked back at her.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then why are you waiting time?" She asked,locking her lips with his. He was surprised for a moment, only a moment, however.

After that, he kissed back with the pent up passion of loving someone for a lifetime only to finally obtain them. Enough to show her how much he had loved her, and how he always would. She received it with equal emotion, the part of her mind which was taking over remembering him though her conscience could not. He twirled his fingers in her hair, and She arched against him. He placed shaking hands against her back and lifted her tank top up, stopping to cup her ample breasts. She lifted it the rest of the way off, and then his as well. He slid on top of her, looking her deep in the eyes, as if asking for a final permission. She gave it in the form of reaching down and slipping her own shorts off, and her underwear along with them. His blush was still going strong, but he seemed to be getting more confidant by the second and he shed the last of his clothing as well. His eyes locked with hers, and she smiled, pulling his head down to hers. No words were needed. He had the knowledge, from the countless "Romance Novels" he had read. In other words, porn, and they both defiantly had the emotion.

She bit her lip, and he stopped her with a flick of his tongue.

"Don't bite your lip. It could get cut." He whispered, and she clenched the sheets while his hands explored her body, inside and out. "Why won't you just let it out?"

"We... aren't alone in the house." She explained, and he frowned.

"My brother is dead to the world in the basement at this time of day. He won't hear a thing." He assured her, but she wasn't so certain.

Right outside the door, Gilbert was clenching his fists. He had come out at six, expecting to find her making breakfast as usual. When she was absent, he went up to their room to see if Ludwig's alarm hadn't gone off or something, when he heard heavy breathing. Being the man-whore he was, he knew exactly what those sounds were, and had fallen against the wall, his legs no longer able to hold his weight. Tears ran down his face, and he stared into the carpet, not really seeing anything. His mind was conjuring images he didn't want to see. Images that he wanted to be in instead of his brother, images that made him want to grab the gun again. He clenched his fist as he heard a small, feminine moan of his brother's name, followed by an animalistic growl. They weren't being loud or anything, in fact he wouldn't hear any of it if he would just get up and walk away. Downstairs to get some food, or watch TV. His room, to blare the music, or even outside to Fransis' house, or Antonio's. But he couldn't move. All he could do was sit there and torture himself with what he couldn't stop. Well, he could barge in and stop it, but he wasn't that big of an ass hole, and he wouldn't want his brother doing that to him if he had been the one she chose.

"Ludi... I.." She dig her nails into his back as he thrust his hips into hers. She had long forgotten the albino that they shared the house with, and had given in to the wave of lust that she was currently riding, so close to cresting she wanted to scream.

"I love you." He whispered into her ear and she shouted out his name as she spasmed around him. He thrust one more time, and followed her over the edge, falling beside her.

"I love you too, Ludi." She said, falling asleep again, naked bodies pressed flush against each other.

SMUT END

Gilbert was spurred from his depressed stupor when the door was knocked upon. He got up to get it, and when he opened it, Kiku was standing outside, looking at him strangely

"I was told that Sophia-San would be here today. Is she not available?" he asked, and the elder German brother was at a loss for words. Did he tell the Asian man exactly why they were unable to see him at the moment, or make something up.

"They both went out. Something about the bases." He waved his hand as if he didn't care, and hoped that the other man couldn't see that he had been crying.

"Do you know when they should be back?" he asked.

"No. And West said not to entertain guests. He's convinced I'll blow something up." He lied, not wanting the other to expect to be invited in only to watch the others he had just said were out walk down the stairs.

"I see. Well, I would like to speak with them, so please have Ludwig-San call me when they return." He bowed, sure that he had been scheduled to see them. A week before he had called Ludwig, who had told him that he would be free on this day at around this time, and the German had never done something like this. He was fairly concerned, but decided to give it a while before he really freaked out. After all, if he had suddenly found the woman he loved, he may forget something like that. He walked away, already awaiting the call of a rushed explanation

At a few minutes past noon, Ludwig opened his eyes sluggishly. He first realized that he was naked, and then memories came back. He looked over and confirmed this by the fact that Sophia had a similar state of undress going on, and blushed. He had thought it to be just one of his vivid fantasies. But this time it was reality, something he was both pleased and overwhelmed to know. Like most human beings, he didn't like change, and would only make one when necessary Now he was making a huge change, and this would be only until Christmas, or even before that. He couldn't help but wonder why it was he had changed so much for her. He had been with Italy, and he was even more bubbly. It If anything should have broken his exterior, it should have been the Italian. But it wasn't It was the motherly woman lying closely next to him, a smile on her face. She had come along with a gently firm hand and guided him out of the dark and into the light that encompassed everything she touched, and he wasn't any the wiser until she was jerked from underneath him. His anchor taken, leaving him drifting between the Germany before her, and the Germany after, settling more and more into his old ways of violent chill until she shone down upon him once again.

_Great._ He thought, _now I'm writing poetry in my head. I'm becoming more like fucking Austria everyday._ He got up and headed to the shower. He realized that his brother had probably realized something was up, and he only hoped that he hadn't come in the room. Before going into the bathroom, he was going to cover Sophia up, just in case, as nearly her entire body was showing. As he was lovingly pulling the sheet atop her, the door opened, reveling Gilbert.

"Yo, West. Since you and Sophia were up here fucking up a storm, I had to tell Japan that you forgot about him and went out. You should call him as soon as you come up with where you went." He said, his voice nearly it's usual cocky self, but his demeanor sad, as if in mourning.

"Thanks, Gil." He said back, and red eyes looked at him with a sad smile.

"No problem West. And I'm sorry I kissed your girl." He told him before starting to walk away. Ludwig of course wasn't embarrassed by the fact that he was naked in front of his brother. After all, they were in fact brothers, and so it wasn't like they'd be looking at each other sexually. Or that Gilbert hadn't seen him naked millions of times in their centuries of living together.

"I'm sorry we fell for the same girl. All the womanizing you do, and she's the one you finally pick." He joked, and Gilbert nodded.

"I know. I suppose you are the better brother." He grew even sadder at this.

"No. For her, maybe, but you're better for the world." He said, nodding at the shocked albino and heading to the shower. He had never stroked his ego like that, thinking it too large already.

He walked down the stairs, with a small smile on his face. He may not have gotten the girl, but he had once again become the hero in the eyes of his little brother, something he had been missing for a long, long time.

Sophia woke up right as the shower turned on. She saw that she had been re-covered sometime during the night, and that Ludwig was missing. This made sense, as Gilbert always used the downstairs shower. Speaking of Gilbert..

She sighed. He was a good person, and she had been trying to show him that. And yet she had been forced to choose. She loved Ludwig and she knew it, but Gilbert was a close second, and apparently even Japan, known for sensing the mood couldn't tell her feelings for them apart. He had simply know it was one of them. She wondered if, free of the memories in the back of her mind that had given her feelings of love for Ludwig from the start, if she would have chosen differently. Without that nagging bit of her brain telling her to scoot a little closer to him, only it was unable to form real words. She had never expected either of them to love her, much less both. It was like some cheesy movie where the girl who has nothing much going for her manages to get all of the guys chasing her, and she hated it. She wished that she had friend zoned Gilbert from the beginning, but she didn't realize the suggestiveness of her own actions until now.

She had crawled into his bed, and cuddled with him for comfort. She made it a point to bring him food every morning while she had Ludwig come to the table to eat. While that was more that she wanted them both fed, and Ludwig was simply willing and insistent upon eating at the table, she could see how it could be misinterpreted. Before she had even known Germany's real name, she had given him a nickname, and talked to him deeply on a nearly daily basis. She told him of what a good person he was, and looking back he could easily see how she had been mistaken. And what if she wasn't, and she had really meant to do all of the things that had left him wanting her as more than a friend? She had fallen in love with Ludwig sub-conscientiously before she had done so in the forefront of her mind, why not the same with his brother. She would hate to discover months from now that she had really loved the elder all along only to have him be with someone else when she came to him crying. She was deep in thought when Ludwig came out, towel wrapped around his waist.

"I hope you slept well,love." He smiled, though his cheeks were red at the emotional language. And all of her doubts were swept away. She loved him, and that was all there was to it. She like Gilbert as her best friend, but her heart was reserved for the blonde man in front of her.

"Great. Can you help me out of bed?"

"Um... sure. But why?"

"I can't feel my lower body past the throbbing." She smiled, but the small movement of shrugging was even enough to intensify the pain, and she smiled apologetically as he went into a frenzy of apologies.


	12. Chapter twelve

Sophia went down the stairs, and looked around. Everything looked exactly the same as when she had gone up the night before, and yet it seemed irrevocably different. She was Ludwig's, and she had made a huge scene of it in front of Gilbert, who was nowhere to be seen. She wondered if he had made himself breakfast. If he was even home, if he would be home again. She had outright rejected him, instead running into the arms of his brother, and now he was far more quiet than he had ever been before. Ludwig was right behind her, and she took comfort in his strong presence, but sill felt that she needed to talk to the albino brother alone.

"Just don't let him try anything, okay? You've done nothing wrong, and he has nothing to hold against you, understand?" The tall blonde said. She nodded and headed into the basement where the elder brother usually stayed when he wasn't drinking beer in front of the TV.

"Gil, you there?" She knocked on his door and then opened it with an eerie creak.

"What do you want?" He spat from his unmade as usual bed.

" I just want to talk to you." She said back, surprised but not angry at his snippiness.

"I'm sure you do, but I get it. You see something in me, but it's not as cool as what you see in West. He's always been everyone's favorite, so it's not something new."

"That's not it, Gil. You're a great guy, but you aren't a great guy for me. You just aren't who I fell in love with. You'll find someone too, I'm sure of it." She smiled at him, and a small smile appeared on his own lips.

"Alright. One thing about being in love with someone for more that there body is that you actually want what's best for them, instead of just wanting them. I see that West makes you happy, and that makes me a sort of bittersweet happy as well."

"Thanks, Gil. We can still be friends, though, right?"

"Yeah. Sure. But you don't get to go out with me when I'm with the boys."

" Seeing as how I don't have a penis, I don't see how I could go on boys nights even if I wanted to." She joked, and he chuckled as well.

"Fair enough. Now get in the kitchen where you belong. I'm hungry." He said and she grinned before going up, planning on making breakfast anyway.

"So how'd it go?" Ludwig asked as bacon fried on the stove.

"pretty good, considering."

" Considering what?"

"That most people consider him to be a selfish jerk who only cares about himself and what he wants. That you were expecting him to throw a fit and try and guilt trip me, and that even though I was down there for less than five minutes, you wanted to come in after me like I was some sort of child in a lion's den."

"Sorry. I can't help but be worried."

"I'm not angry, in fact Gil not being mad at me is a big relief." She smiled, and he smiled with her when the phone rang.

" I got it." He said, and she went back to cooking while he answered the phone. She heard him sigh and wondered who it was, until she heard the loud voice of her father on the other end.

"What does Dad want?" She called through the house.

"He wants us to go to some ball his boss is hosting. Apparently there is going to be a bunch of business guys and since we're his biggest trading partner he wants to invite me, and by extension you."

"So you're telling me that my father is actually being serious about something?"

"I know, I'm surprised too."

"Then again, you aren't being serious, and that's almost as rare, -face." She came over and wrapped her arms around him.

"So dude, ya comin or not, bro?" The American man asked, shouting loud enough to be heard in spite of the fact that the phone wasn't on speaker.

"Yes, when is it?"

"Today next month, formal dress, bring Soph, and your brother if you feel like it. After the boring stuff there's gonna be a par-tay!" She somehow knew that her father was dancing on the other end.

"Alright. We'll be there."

"Good deal. Now I have to go make sure that breakfast doesn't burn." She kissed him on the cheek as he hung up the phone, and she went into the kitchen.

A month passed, leaving Ludwig less grumpy than usual, and Gilbert more so. The younger brother went everywhere with her twice, making sure that they had been to every part of Berlin together. Gilbert however, moped around, and drank more than usual. Francis and Antonio came over to try and cheer him up and he still stalked the house like a zombie with a beer in his hand. But when the party came around, he seemed to perk up again. Unfortunately, so did his sisters. The morning of the party, at eight o'clock, Liz and Bella showed up, with three dresses and an evil glint in their eyes.

"Ludi, I'm terrified of your sisters. They know that this is a formal event, yes?" She whispered in his ear as the two women arrived.

"I think so. Don't worry, I have a dress for you if you want to change afterward." He whispered back. She nodded and sighed as she was carried up the stairs by the overly enthusiastic sisters.

"So they got a hold of your girl, eh, West."

"Yes, and I'm both looking forward to and terrified of what they have in store for her."

"Let me guess, the man in you wants her to come out wearing nothing at all, but the gentleman in you wants her to be wearing a floor length, Victorian gown?"

"Pretty much."

"I'm glad we could have this talk, because I get to give you some good brotherly advice. You want her to be in something conservative, because while you get to see her naked, everyone else shouldn't get to."

"Did you just say something that made sense? Damn, everything is weird."

"Shut up, I have good ideas all the time!"

"Keep telling yourself that, I suppose." Ludwig said, going up to his room to await the signal that his lover's outfit was complete.

It was hours later when Bella's voice echoed through the house, telling him that it was time. He went down the stairs, having gotten ready a few minutes ago himself. The two of them were standing in front of her, so that all he could see was her head, with her hair half pulled up and curled around an exposed collar.

"And here is the temporarily improved Sophia Jones!" Elizebeta shouted, though everyone was right there. They stepped away, just in time for Sophia to blush furiously and fidget as she fought to keep from covering herself. She was wearing a beaded teal dress that had thin straps and a floor length skirt.

"Damn, she's looking good, West." Gilbert said, though he was careful not to allow his eyes to stray, both out of a rarely showed, but deeply pounded in sense of gentlemanly-ness due to his crusader upbringing, as well as the fact that he didn't want his little brother to kill him.

"indeed she is. But then again, you always do." Ludwig said, surprising everyone with what is normal flirting, but was a book of poems coming from this guy. It was also accompanied by a blush.

"Thanks, Ludi. I guess it isn't to bad. Better than that other one they brought. That one made me feel like I was walking the street." She said, shivering at the thought.

"What did you get?" Gilbert asked, amused by the fact that there was such a garment as to make the ever confidant Sophia Jones self-conscious.

"Rather, what didn't they. I think they took a half-made dress and just went with it." Sophia said, and they all chuckled.

"Anyway, don't we have a party to get to?" Bella said, grinning.

As they reached the mansion in Switzerland where America's boss had decided to hold the international party, thanks to the perks of Nations having their own private helicopters, they saw a number of the other Europeans.

"Sophia!" Italy shouted, hugging Sophia by surprise.

"Hey, Feli. It's been a while hasn't it?" She ruffled his hair, as was her custom with kids, only to get a dirty look from Elizebeta.

"Now you've ruined his hair." She said, pulling a comb from her purse and combing through his auburn locks, which he seemed to be embarrassed about because he was blushing quite a bit. Afterward, the small Italian took his lover and dragged him away, unusually dominant.

"What was that about? It didn't even do that much to his hair." Sophia said, obviously not having figured out about that little curl. Ludwig gave his sister a raised eyebrow, and Gilbert hid a smile.

They walked in, and this time it was the American girl who ran off, to give her father a giant bear hug, being the only person alive who could actually bear hug with the extremely strong American man. And yet this time, she didn't seem to phase him, her strength fading fast. They had to cut the embrace short, much to the dismay of her father.

"Sorry." He said, when she winced from the pressure she had been able to easily take before.

"It's alright Not your fault." She grinned as the pain faded, or she at least started to ignore it.

The next hour or so was the various business people talking about whatever economic deal they were working on, and some of the finer points of politics. Britain yelled at America for his conservatism, while America ignored him and made fun of France for being too liberal. It was a bit of a mess, and Sophia was a tad overwhelmed. The only politics she ever knew was that Commies were bad, and that the other people were good. That was all she had needed to know. Now allies were having disputes over things that were enormous gaps to modern people, but seemed almost irrelevant to her.

But of course, it was a party after all, and after everyone had a few glasses of wine, and the regular humans left, it got wild. Overcoats were taken off, and ties were loosened. Hair was let down, and Ludwig took the alcohol from Sophia's hand. He explained to her that she had the lowest tolerance he'd ever seen in his life, and that she was never to touch an alcoholic beverage near France again. She agreed, after hearing the story of the fourth of July party.

Japan slow danced with Taiwan, in spite of the fact that America had started playing gundum style from his I-pod, prompting South Korea to, rightly so for once, claim that he had made it. Sophia was completely and utterly confused by the song, not understanding the words, or the dance along with it. However, she was American, and so she was never one to miss out on fun for fear of making a fool of herself, so after one cycle of the song, she was going right along with it. Strangely, Alfred had allowed the guests to take turns and Roderick soon had a classical piano piece playing over the super-speakers.

"May I have this dance?" Alfred asked his daughter, not yet knowing that she was in a relationship with the youngest German brother.

"Sure." She said, shooting Ludwig an apologetic look for not having said dance with him. But an angry, tipsy Alfred was the last thing anyone wanted, so they simply went along with it.

"So, how are you feeling?" He asked her, as they danced in circles.

" I have to tell you something, Daddy." She said, and he sighed. She only called him daddy instead of dad when she thought he was about to be mad about something.

"Get it over with while I'm a little drunk." He said, stopping their movement.

"Ludwig and I are together. Like, together together." She said, looking up at him expectantly.

"Are you happy with him?"

"Very much so."

"Are you in love with him?"

"Yeah."

"Then I suppose nothing I could say would change your mind at this point, so I'll just say that at least it isn't France or a communist." He grinned, and she seemed shocked.

"What, no declaration of war, or angry outburst?"

"Did you want me to get angry?"

"No, no! I like you being okay with it, just surprised is all."

"Fair enough. But shouldn't you be dancing with your boyfriend right now?" He grinned, and she thanked him before going over to the refreshment table and grabbing the blonde's hand. She was about to drag him onto the floor, when the door dramatically burst open.

"Someone forgot my invitation, da?"


	13. Chapter 13

A/N- That's right guys. I'm not dead. I just had a broken laptop. I hope that you very much enjoy the ending of my fanfiction, the much changed and rewritten form of the first one I ever wrote.

Everyone turned to the Russia taking up the doorway. He was hard to miss in an overcoat that was simply black rather than grey, and just as worn, with his white scarf and childishly cruel smile. He could have been the bad guy in any bond movie, and so America obviously assumed he was here to do something evil.

"Ivan…" Sophia said, looking at the floor with a distant expression. Ludwig tried to get her to move farther back, while Alfred confronted the newcomer.

"I didn't give you an invitation for a reason." Alfred snarled, his calm demeanor melting away in light of his age old enemy.

"I simply wanted to see my little sunflower." He said, setting his violet eyes on the spacey American girl.

"Come near her and I'll rip out your throat." Ludwig growled, not willing to allow her to be taken again.

"If the sunflower remembered, she would tell you I mean her no harm." He said, his smile for once changing from it's usual expression to a sad smile.

"I do." She said softly, looking up into the eyes of the man everyone had assumed to e her attacker, and captor; the thief of her memories.

"What?" Nearly everyone said in unison."

" Ivan never wanted to hurt me. He wanted to protect me." She said, before falling to the ground, hacking.

"See. She knows the truth. And I never got to spend much time with her, but now I just want to have a few days. A small percentage of the time left when her own father gave her a certain death." The tallest man took a step forward, and Ludwig held his woman closer.

"it's okay, Ludi, I-" She started coughing up blood at this point, going pale and her grip on Ludwig's pant leg going from iron strong to nearly non-existent.

" I may be able to save her, but she'll have to spend a few days at my place first."

" And how would you accomplish that, commie?" America asked, still none to happy about Ivan's presence.

" I would give her my heart. If she stays at my place, her loose nationality should form the same link she has with Germany, and she should be able to inherit the nation of Russia." He said, seemingly unphased by his own demise.

"No!" Sophia shouted in between her desperate gasps and her near constant racking coughs.

"And why not? If that's what he wants, why can't he?" Ludwig argued, perfectly willing to watch someone he hated die for the one he loved. If Ivan didn't, then he would.

"Because, he's already suffered enough for me." She answered, and was about to elaborate when she simply passed out, leaving no one aware of what had occurred in that mansion.

_Ludwig ran out of the door, Gilbert over his shoulder and the small bird flying not far behind. Sophia wanted to watch him leave, knowing that it would be her last image of the man she had fallen in love with. But keeping him alive was even more important, and that required attention._

_ "You'll pay for that, you damn bastard." She said, awaiting the attack that she had come to expect._

_ "For what. If you look closely you'll see that he has barely any injuries. I was trying to save him, my little sunflower. Save him from a world that hated him. So that he didn't have to suffer the exile your Ludwig did before you came into this world."_

_ "save him, he could barely walk!" _

_ "Because he refused to eat. He was weak, and there is no room for weakness in my Russia."_

_ "Why would he refuse to eat?"_

_ "Because I am no saint. I tried to keep him from leaving me, but instead took away my only hope of keeping him here." He said, looking at the ground, his face a mix of guilt and sadness._

_ "You can't cage people, Ivan! It's wrong, and I won't stand for it."_

_ "You truly are your father's daughter, little sunflower. But you aren't just his child. You are the world, Sophia, so please, think with your obtuse mind, rather than your narrow one." He begged, and she was shocked._

_ "You don't know me, and you don't know my father. He's a good man!"_

_ "Yes, but he's a young one. As are you, but I was hoping that along with their culture, you would take the world's wisdom as well. Sometimes, death happens among nations. You'll have to accept this to live in this world."_

_ "No! There is no reason to simply accept the wrongs of the world. IF there's anything I know from my father, it's that life can be changed for the better, if only you can try." She said, not knowing why she didn't just start the fight. Not that she wasn't just a staller at this point anyway. That was what she told herself. She was buying time for Ludwig, and not at all interested in the no doubt lies coming from the Russian's mouth._

_ "Your father is an idealistic child. I was like that once. I thought that I could become strong and protect my friends. That maybe then I would have something to offer them. But my strength makes them afraid of me. They think I'd hurt them, when the only reason I hold them here is to protect them. If Lithuania weren't at my place, he would have been taken by Nazis, just like Poland and so many others. But they refuse to see it that way. Everyone refuses to think that maybe, just maybe I'm not completely evil, and so I've given up trying. But you're new. You could be made to see, little sunflower, that it's all I can do to keep myself and my sisters alive, much less terrorize the world."_

_ "But why didn't you let Gilbert o after the hatred was over? Why keep him so long?"_

_ "Because the hate isn't over yet. They hide their snide remarks behind cupped hands, and you never hear them, but Ludwig feels the weight of their hate every day. That's why your love came at such an opportune moment. When everyone would look at you and say 'America's daughter is fine with him, and no one wants to piss her off. Let's be less awful to Ludwig when she's around'. You were his shield, but soon you'll have to choose. Choose between your father, and your true love, because the false bravado they show around you will shatter when they no longer need you. Trust me, I know."_

_ "And how is that?"_

_ "Because I used to be your fathers ally. And then when the war was over, he turned on me like a rabid dog on a master that's covered in meat"_

"_Oh my God. Th-that's completely different from what they told me. Why would they lie?" Somehow she knew that he was telling the truth. She knew, because she had always known in her heart that the man she had been conditioned to hate was nothing more than a boy, forced to be s man, far too soon in order to protect those he loved most._

"_they didn't lie. That is what they truly believe to be true. And I stopped trying tot change their minds long ago. Their opinion of me is solid as the rock on the ground, and there is no changing it. But maybe I can change you, and then I can have a true friend. Someone who can be trusted to defend me, as I wish to defend them."_

"_Dimmit, if you had just told me all of this before I would have been your ally without any problems."_

"_Really? I-I simply found the idea that someone would actually help me without being able to plead my case to a captive audience. I'm sorry. I'll keep your generosity in mind."_

"_But don't think that just because we're friends I'll be your lucky. I'm American, and we don't take shit from nobody."_

"_I trust that you can take care of yourself." He smiled, and they were about to shake hands when tiny footsteps reverberated on the hardwood floor._

"_What are you doing, brother. Why is there a strange woman in our house?"_

"_No reason. I was just leaving." She was saying, looking down at the floor._

"_You were trying to seduce my brother weren't you? Well he's mine, and I don't take kindly to competition." She pulled a knife from her garter, and turned at Sophia, death in her eyes._

"_No. You will not harm her." Ivan said, catching her arm._

"_Let me go brother, there's a rat in our house." Usually Ivan was terrified enough of his sister to do as she told, but this time he swallowed his fear and simply held strong._

"_Oh, brother…" she looked at him, and moved her long sleeve- covered arm up to his face, before he fell to the floor._

"_What the-"_

"_Chloroform sleeve. Always comes in handy." She said grinning wickedly. _

_Sophia was screaming as her jacket was thrown from the window._

_It was years before Ivan found out that his little sister hadn't allowed Sophia to leave after threatening her. He simply thought that her kind words had been lies, and, combined with his fall from power, left him a depressed mess. But finally he found her. She was tied up in his basement, beaten and bruised. But the most disturbing part was the white-hot fire poker in his sister's hand as she drug it across skin that was little more than scar tissue at this point. Sophia was gagged, and the screams coming from her mouth were so hoarse that they were barely audible._

"_I told you that she was not to be harmed! Is this where she has been this entire time? Release her at once!"_

"_No. She will pay for trying to take you from me, brother. She will pay dearly."_

"_You live in my home, Belarus, and you will let my friend go or that will no longer be the case. You are my sister, and I want to care for you, but not at this expense."_

"_B-brother…?"_

"_Why could you not allow me one single friend? What would have been so wrong with me not being alone?" he said angrily._

"_I am always with you. you are not alone."_

"_I'd rather be alone that with you, you crazy bitch!" He shouted, his temper snapping._

"_I'm so sorry, brother. Will you forgive me if I let her go?"_

"_Yes. Send her home to her father, where it's safe. Please…"_

"_Fine, brother. But she's died three times. She remembers nothing. Shall we keep it that way?" Ivan turned away as the platinum blonde girl shoved the fire poker into the other woman's heart._

"_Please forgive me, Sophia…"_

Ludwig lifted his fallen lover, and looked at her solemnly. She was more at peace than most of her nights asleep, and he kissed her forehead.

"Give her back. If she's not in my arms in one week, your nation will be red instead of white this winter, understand?"

"Understood." Even without knowing the information that would make him understand Sophia's trust, he trusted her enough to know what she was doing, and if she trusted Ivan, then he couldn't go against that. Especially when it damn well could take her life.

"Hey what are you-" Alfred went to take her back when Ludwig gave him the look that said "I will kill you where you stand", which, combined with the four grown men, Britain, Cuba, France, and Prussia holding him back, made him stop in his tracks, putting Sophia in the arms of the man everyone thought was the enemy, but someone she had obviously thought to be a friend.

"If she trusts him, we can't make her choices for her. She said that she knew what went on in that house, and that he protected her. I trust her to make her own choices. You can't treat her like a child now, when you threw her into war a week after she was born." Britain said, and the younger nation faltered, and fell. He hadn't been able to save his little girl, and had to relinquish her well-being first to Germany, and now to his most hated enemy. What right had he to complain about who she was with. He was an awful father, and this was what he was left with as the door closed, and so too did his hope of making up for it, at least in his mind.


	14. Chapter 14

"What happened?" Sophia said, as she awoke in a strange place. She looked around, and realized it wasn't so strange. She was in the guest room in Russia's house. The ornate artwork, and thick cozy blankets were a dead giveaway.

"You're with me, sunflower." The Slavic man said, and she looked to the doorway, where he sat on a chair knitting of all things.

"I said that I don't want you killing yourself for me, Ivan. You're my friend."

"But how can I sit here and watch you die, knowing you don't have to."

"Because I couldn't sit there and know that I was only alive because you gave your life." She said, clenching the sheets, and realizing that they were barely moving no matter how hard she gripped.

"But you don't have a choice, Sophia." He said, and she scowled.

"Then you'll be my captor this time, and you'll be my torturer."

"Have you always been so dramatic?"

"Shut up! I never asked for anyone to help me. I'm ready to die, dammit, so just let me leave."

"You haven't tried to do so. I'm not keeping you, but I doubt you can even stand"

"Don't…" She lifted herself from the bed, to place her weight on shaky legs, "Underestimate me."

"Then go. You'll fall and I'll come get you. You won't get out of the country, even if you were at your usual strength. But once you become Russia, you'll have your usual strength in addition to my own."

"Then I'll call Ludi and he'll come get me." She pouted

"He was the one who handed you to me. He wants me to save you even more than I want you to be saved."

"So I'm really stuck in the same situation that you were in."

"Only you have friends who are waiting on you, people who were sad when they thought you dead the first time, and elated when they discovered your life. Very few would miss me."

"I'd miss you, and you have sisters that depend one your strength. You can't decide who lives and dies, that's God's work, Ivan." She argued.

"People don't believe in God like they used to, Sunflower. We only believe in ourselves, and our own abilities."

"Then that's your problem. People didn't try and change everything before. They just realized that that was what is supposed to happen, mourned, and moved on."

"But we don't, and I'm done arguing."

Sophia turned away from him as he placed her back on the bed, and then walked out. She was left alone with nothing but regret and her own loneness.

"Dude, do you realize that Sophia was under extreme physiological stress when she was over there. It would have been easy to influence her, especially when she hadn't known how crazy he was, other than what we told her. She was always way to trusting and it would have been incredibly simple to convince her that he was just the innocent outcast in need of a friend. There are so many ways this is going wrong."

"Or, maybe Russia actually befriended her and isn't that bad a guy after all." Germany argued with the American.

"Think about it, when has she ever had a natural distrust of anyone, even your perverted brother?" Alfred said, his fist banging against the table and snapping the oak wood in half. He never lost his cool like this, always avoiding anything serious with egoistical laughter.

"She said she remembered, so why can't you just believe her?"

"Because I know her. She cares about the average insect more than herself, and I could completely see her lying."

"You don't know her at all, you stupid bastard!" Ludwig said, grabbing Alfred up by the collar of his jacket and slamming him through the wall. "You sent her away when she was just a child so that you could sit on your lazy ass, and then as son as you were sure you wouldn't be ridiculed for it you sent her away, knowing that those were our last minutes with her. You're the sorriest piece of shit I know, and that's saying something considering France comes over to my house on a semi-regular basis."

"Oh, and you're any better you damn Nazi?" Alfred pushed back, sending the German flying into the wall on the other side of the conference room. "I only let her go because she said it was her job, both times. The same damnable sense of duty that would lead her to go to fucking Russia."

"You should have come with her. I tried to convince her to stay, but she said that you were to busy to be bothered with something so trivial. If you had been there, none of this would be happening. I would still have the woman I love, you selfish son of a bitch!" The two were drawing back at each other when Switzerland shot a bullet in the air, strange since it was an anti-gun facility, and they both looked at him.

"As a neutral nation, I feel the need to point out that we can't change anything going on right now, and that invading Russia would do next to nothing. Also, you're scaring my little sister, and if you continue to do so, we won't have an argument because I'll shoot the both of you." He said, his left arm around the cowering pre-teen.

"Fine. We can go check on her, but no one is allowed to bring any weapons, got it? This is a peaceful mission." Ludwig conceded, curious himself to Sophia's wellbeing as well, but not wanting to set the Russian off, and have him no longer save Sophia.

"It's a deal then. Besides, I never did need weapons." America said, referring to the world wars when he would simply punch whatever he came up against. Especially the final battle between Ludwig and the allies. Italy had been there, sobbing in the background while America beat him so bad he was in a coma for two months afterward. Nearly causing the odd, half-death that made nations loose their memory.

It was two days later later, and Sophia was laying in the bed, barely able to breathe. She was pale, and had dark circles under her half-opened eyes. She'd lost an unusual amount of weight, given that she had eaten at least a thousand calories a day in the hearty Russian food she was given. But the thing about American's and Italians was that they required about three times what most people did, being why they ate so much and didn't gain much weight.

"It's almost time, little sunflower. You'll feel much better when you're a nation. But I would like to ask you something."

"What is it?" Her voice was barely there, but she still made the effort to move her head to look at him.

"If things had been different, could you have ever fallen in love with me?" He asked, placing one of his large, warm hands on her clammy face.

"I-I'm sorry. Even then, I belonged only to Ludwig. The most we could have been was friends." She said, and he removed his hand, looking dejected.

"I see. Well, at least that question is answered. I'm sure the two of you will be very happy together." He said, getting up to go back down the stairs when the sound of a door being kicked in, a sound the female was sadly familiar with, followed by the voices of her love and her father.

"They really can't mind their own business can they? I'll be back, sunflower." He said, his voice growing dark and scary. The Ivan that everyone else knew.

"Stop!" She tried to implore him, but it was useless. She got up, barely able to move, leaning on the sturdy furniture as she struggled to the stair well.

"What do you want? You even being in the house could ruin everything."

"I came to check on my daughter. Bring her out." America said, obviously thinking that the Russian was up to something by the fact that a perfectly healthy Sophia wasn't coming out and greeting him in her usual exuberant fashion.

"She's resting. By the fact that I'm still alive, we haven't done the ritual yet."

"I'm right here." Sophia said, barely managing to stay standing, in spite of the fact that nearly all of her weight was on the stair railing.

"You look awful! What have you been doing to her?" Alfred said, looking at the Russian with more malice than usual.

"I have done nothing. Your president has done enough." He said back, the evil aura growing around him.

"You knew she would start loosing strength, America. You can't blame it on him now." Ludwig said, though he was looking for someone to blame as well. So far, the American was his prime target. Yes, it was hid boss' choice, but that never stopped anyone from ridiculing him, now did it?

"Fine, but I want my little girl back. Come on, we're going home, Sophia."

"Okay, but he hasn't done anything to me, Dad. You better not take anything out on him." She agreed, managing to get down the stairs on her own, before Ludwig helped her down.

"Are you sure? Don't let your father pressure you, love." The German said, not wanting to make her do something that she didn't want, but also wanting her to live.

"She just doesn't want to perform the ritual. She would rather die than accept help. Ever the hero, but without the blatant corruption of her father." Ivan said, stepping toward them.

"But we can't force her into anything." Ludwig argued, helping her over to where they were standing.

"You could force her into my home, or into her grave. Make your choice, Friend."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." She said, scowling at all of them.

"Soon you won't be." Another semi-familiar voice said. That of Natalia, Ivan's little sister. Everyone looked over to find her holding one of her classic daggers in the throwing position. Sophia had time to open her eyes wide before closing them as the sound of metal digging into flesh. A sharp thwack that left the blood boiled.

When she opened her eyes, it wasn't her that the blade had injured. It was the man who had intended to save her all along. Ivan lay facing up, with a dagger in his chest and a smile on his face.

"Ivan!" Sophia screamed, dropping to shaky knees beside him.

"America, you better not be-" Arthur, who had stayed with their airlift home came in, and saw what had come to pass. But the near dead Russian wasn't what stopped him. It was the massive amount of power radiating from the girl who was supposed to be barely alive.

"Dude, what's up? I thought you were staying with the helicopter."

"What did you do?" The brit asked, looking from America to his daughter and back again.

"I won't miss a second time." Netalia said.

"You've gone to far, sister. I can't protect you anymore." Ivan said, before the head he had been holding up to look at his sister fell down, and everything else went stiff as well. He was dead, and She obviously planned to make Sophia that way as well.

"Say hello to Ivan in the afterlife." Sophia said, even Alfred and Ludwig sensing the magic swirling around her.

"You need to calm down, Sophia. You were born with a spark of fire magic, natural magic that only reacts to your emotions. If you don't calm down, then you could burn the house and everyone in it. Including Ludwig and your father."

"I don't care. So long as she dies nothing else matters." She said, standing up with a noticeable scorching wind flying about, turning small decorative into cinders.

"Sophia, you can get your revenge without killing your father. That won't help anything." Ludwig said, trying to lay a hand on her, but yanking his hand away, leaving it severely burned.

"No!" Her voice seemed to resound, as she healed up her hand and the youngest Russian burst into flames. She screamed as her flesh was wended from her bones, and as she breathed her last breath, the flaming tempest stopped. And then Sophia stumbled, before catching herself.

"Are you okay, Sophia?" Ludwig and Alfred both said, each of them trying to wrap her in their arms, which resorted in them glaring at each other.

"Yeah. I feel better than ever. But I can suddenly speak Belarusian. Why is that, Uncle Arthur?" She looked at him with eyes turned violet from their normal sky blue.

"You've taken possession of the nation of Belarus. But who knows who got Russia." The magical scholar said, raising one obnoxiously large eyebrow.

"So then…I'm not going to die?" Sophia said, her normal complexion returning.

"No."

"YES!" Her father said, going into one of his famous bear hugs.

A/N- So this is almost the last chapter. The rest is just a little bit of wrap up and a bridge into the sequal, which will likely be rewritten as well. Thanks for reading, and hope you guys review!


End file.
